Livid Schuerholz: Furcal dealings ‘despicable’

If Rafael Furcal’s decision to renege on a verbal agreement to sign with the Braves was the biggest jolt of the team’s dreadful winter, this must be the aftershock.

John Schuerholz, the Braves’ president and former general manager, Thursday called the dealings of Furcal’s agents “despicable” and “disgusting” and said the franchise would no longer entertain signing players represented by them — ever.

“Having been in this business for 40-some years, I’ve never seen anybody treated like that,” Schuerholz said. “The Atlanta Braves will no longer do business with that company — ever. I told [agent] Arn Tellem that we can’t trust them to be honest and forthright. I told him that in all my years, I’ve never seen any [agency] act in such a despicable manner.

“It was disgusting and unprofessional. We’re a proud organization, and we won’t allow ourselves to be treated that way. I advised Arn Tellem that whatever players he represents, just scratch us off the list. Take the name of the Atlanta Braves off their speed dial. They can deal with the other 29 clubs, and we’ll deal with the other hundred agents.”

Tellem, the lead agent in the Wasserman Media Group, released a seven-point e-mail statement Thursday night, saying in part: “Losing out on an all-star player like Furcal is always disappointing, and we understand the Braves’ frustration with the outcome of this negotiation, but it does not change in any way the fact that we conducted ourselves with integrity and complied with all rules of Major League Baseball throughout this process.”

Paul Kinzer, who works for Tellem and handled negotiations with Braves general manager Frank Wren, has not returned several messages left by the Journal-Constitution in recent days.

The Wasserman agency lists more than 60 baseball clients on its Web site, including the Braves’ Peter Moylan.

The Braves believed they had reached an agreement with Furcal on a three-year, $30 million contract with a fourth year vesting option. At Kinzer’s request, they faxed the agent a term sheet Tuesday morning for Furcal’s signature. A term sheet is considered the final step of negotiations. But Kinzer took the offer back to Los Angeles and used it as leverage.

Schuerholz said he phoned Tellem on Wednesday night.

“I expressed my great disappointment to him,” he said. “I watched as Frank shared with me the circumstances of his negotiations with Furcal — negotiations to the point where we increased our offer, and he [Kinzer] then asked for a signed term sheet to be sent over. We never got that signed term sheet faxed back to us, and we later found out why — because they took that offer and shopped it.”

Staff writer David O’Brien contributed to this report.