A Miami federal judge said Thursday she was struggling with the “paradox” of the good and bad sides presented in court about sports agent Bart Hernandez and trainer Julio Estrada, who were found guilty of smuggling Cuban baseball players into the United States to capitalize on their multimillion-dollar major league contracts.
But in the end, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams condemned their wrongdoing while giving Hernandez a nearly four-year prison sentence and Estrada just over five years.
“This case is not about the love of the game,” Williams said, echoing the defense teams’ theme during the sentencing hearing.