(C) 2005 SPORTSTICKER ENTERPRISES, L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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By Fred Claire 
SportsTicker Contributing Writer

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - 	One of the great shocks of my life as
the general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers was supplied by
agent Arn Tellem.

The date was December 1, 1989, and I was in Tellem's office in
Los Angeles with Dodger attorney Sam Fernandez as we attempted
to sign free agent pitcher Mark Langston.

It appeared we were going to reach a deal after several meetings
with both Tellem and Langston himself. The only hang-up was the
issue of a no-trade clause.

The Dodgers had a policy of never giving an exclusive no-trade
deal but I had expressed the thought that we would consider a
limited provision whereby we would retain the rights to trade
Langston but limit the number of teams.

Tellem excused himself from the late-evening meeting and said he
wanted to make a phone call.

He returned about 15 minutes later and announced, "Mark Langston
has just signed with the Angels."

Here we were in a private evening meeting, feeling we had a
total commitment to make our best case, and we were knocked out
of the box.

Sam and I closed our briefcases, almost too stunned to say much
of anything, and headed home.

The next morning Tellem called Sam and admitted he had some
reservations about what had happened.

The agent said a total no-trade was important to Langston and
his wife and he felt we were so strong on the point that a deal
couldn't be done and have the player be satisfied.

It proved to me you can stand on a principal as a general
manager and lose a player.

I accepted the decision because I felt that giving a total
no-trade contract was giving away too much authority to a
player. The team should maintain its right to control player
movement.

I had all but forgotten the Langston negotiations of so many
years ago when I picked up the New York Times on Sunday and
received another shock by something Tellem had to say in
writing.

In a by-line piece for the newspaper, carrying headlines of
Seeking Heroes, Finding Humans; Athlete as Role Model Is a
Dubious Notion, Tellem made several points and came to this key
conclusion:

"It is time we finally put to rest the dubious notion of
athletes as role model," he said. "For all their incredible
feats and astounding resolve, ballplayers are just like you and
me. Yet many folks demand that athletes be morally upright, and
some blame them for the destructiveand occasionally
self-destructivebehavior of young fans."

Tellem goes on to state that parents and coaches have a
responsibility in the athletic careers of young people and asks,
"Aren't they the real role models?"

Arn Tellem is right about the importance of the guiding hand of
the parent and the coach.

The shock from my viewpoint is that Tellem wants to remove the
athlete as a role model.

It's an even greater jolt when you consider Tellem was recently
promoted to chief executive officer of the SFX Sports Group.
This is a group that is so strong it represents not only some of
the top names in baseball and basketball but more than 16 per
cent of the players in each sport.

Tellem and other player representatives should be stressing the
obligation that comes with signing a professional contract.

It is not only because of the vast amount of money that is
involved and Tellem's baseball clients like Nomar Garciaparra,
Jason Giambi and Mike Mussina are certainly well paidit is the
responsibility that comes with the position.

If a player makes the minimum or if he makes in the millions per
season, he has a responsibility to himself, his own family and
to the all of the fans of the sport to conduct himself in the
best possible manner.

And that equates to serving as a role model, to do your very
best on and off the field as a professional because millions of
people are watching and looking and hoping that you will fulfill
your obligations.

I discovered a long time ago that I could live with a surprising
decision by Tellem and Langston related to a multi-million
dollar contact.

I do hope that Tellem rethinks his position on role models and
encourages his players to do everything possible to provide the
best example.

At the beginning of one of major league baseball's most
important seasons, I hope Tellem reminds all of his players that
the youth and the fans of the game are watching.

(Fred Claire was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers from
1969-98, serving the team as Executive Vice-President and
general manager. Fred's book (Fred Claire: My 30 Years in Dodger
Blue) was released last year by SportsPublishingLLC. Fred can
be reached at fclaire@pacbell.net.

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