Hannah Valente has become one of the youngest sports agents in the country. The third-year law student at Elon Law has received certification from the National Basketball Players Association to represent players during contract negotiations.
The NBPA requires prospective agents to complete an exam that tests their knowledge of the complex bargaining agreements that exist between players and the league. Valente took the test in January rather than wait until after graduation so it wouldn’t interfere with her studying for the bar exam.
“There’s a whole other side about the business of basketball that I never knew existed,” Valente said of her experience. “This process is a big financial investment, especially for someone just starting out.”
Valente’s interest in basketball goes back to high school when an injury redirected her efforts from playing the game to studying the business of it. She then used that experience to be the manager for the Providence College division one men’s basketball team.
“Hannah had instinctive insight in analyzing basketball and took meticulous stats,” said Frederick Agnostakis, the athletic director for Loyola School in NYC, where Valente attended high school. “She made my coaching easier in terms of who should play and how the team should adjust at halftime. She had total respect from the team and the coaching staff.”
Statistics are not available for the demographic makeup of agents, but a spokeswoman for the NBPA confirmed that Valente is one of the youngest in the country.
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Florida’s senate has passed a bill that will allow grandparents to visit their grandchildren following a personal tragedy.
Informally dubbed the Markel Act, the bill’s origins are in the 2014 murder of Florida State University Law professor Dan Markel. Markel’s ex-wife and her family members were named as co-conspirators in his death, but the children were left estranged from Markel’s parents. Florida law would not allow them to petition for visitation. This new bill changes that.
The state senate voted unanimously to pass HB 1119, which will allow grandparents to petition for visitation of their grandchildren when a co-parent is found culpable for the death of the other parent.
“When a child loses a parent, it is tragic,” said House Speaker Chris Sprowls. “They shouldn’t be doubly grieved by losing a relationship with their grandparents too. This bill opens a legal path for visitation for grandparents in the event a surviving parent is found legally responsible for the death of the other parent while preserving the surviving parent’s rights. It’s long overdue.”
