Sliding Into Safety: Why Formal United Nations or United States Sanctions or Action Would Help Major League Baseball Curb Human Smuggling and Trafficking Issues

Authors

Maxwell Russ

First Page

127

Abstract

Every year when the baseball season ends and the offseason begins, professional teams’ front offices go searching for the best available players. Often, incredibly talented baseball players can be found across the world and today, Major League Baseball (MLB) players come from across the globe. Yet, despite the global outreach of MLB, the process by which teams are allowed to search for, recruit, and sign foreign-born players remains largely unregulated by the league itself. For years, stories of players from foreign countries being subjected to shady and unethical practices have begun to surface. This dark side of baseball was even known by many scouts and front office executives involved in the process. This Note examines how this illicit form of foreign recruitment often has violated both domestic law and international standards governing human trafficking and smuggling. This Note explains both the domestic law and international standards that govern human trafficking and smuggling and examines the ways in which foreign player recruitment arguably violates both. This Note further contends that MLB has a moral and legal obligation to adhere to these guidelines and rules. Finally, this Note suggests why the hurdles to implementing a rigid international player’s draft are likely too high to overcome, and thus the United States (US) and United Nations (“UN”) must hold MLB accountable under either federal domestic law or UN international guidelines, thus curbing MLB’s role in human trafficking and smuggling.

Recommended Citation

Maxwell Russ, Sliding Into Safety: Why Formal United Nations or United States Sanctions or Action Would Help Major League Baseball Curb Human Smuggling and Trafficking Issues, 50 Brook. J. Int'l L. 127 (2024).
Available at: https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/bjil/vol50/iss1/5