Once one of the most promising young athletes in sports, 18-year old Michelle Wie's career is quickly heading towards a cliff. And her parents are leading her to the cliff at warp speed ahead.

It was just a few short years ago (October 2005) that Wie turned pro and quickly signed with the William Morris Agency and was managed by Ross Berlin, a former PGA Tour executive. WMA helped negotiate lucrative endorsement deals for Wie with Nike and Sony. Before she ever played a pro event, Wie was amongst the highest paid women on the LPGA tour bringing home approximately $20M a year from endorsements alone.

But then the wheels came off the train. Berlin had disagreements with Wie's parents on her schedule and word is that he butted heads with the ever controlling B.J. Wie. That led to Berlin's resignation. He was replaced by Greg Nared, a former Nike Golf employee who learned the ropes by servicing the likes of Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie when he worked in the company's sports marketing department. As I wrote  last October when Nared took over as Wie's agent, I questioned whether Nared was the person I'd trust my future with if I were Michelle Wie. 

Turns out Nared didn't trust HIS future with Michelle or B.J. Wie as he resigned from the William Morris Agency today and will no longer serve as Michelle Wie's agent. I'm sure we'll hear different versions of how this relationship ended (the Wie's will likely say that they chose to get rid of Nared while Nared may say he had enough of the Wie family), but the fact that Wie has gone through two agents in 2 years is a very disturbing story. Both Berlin and Nared were in a no-win situation going up against B.J. Wie who rarely takes anyone's advice.

My guess is that Michelle still lets her father B.J. call all of the shots with her career. Until that changes and she can make her own decisions, her career is likely to continue to be a rocky road. She's lost confidence on the course (She ended her season with a 76.7 scoring average, broke par only twice, failed to record a single round in the 60s and made only two cuts) and her off the course career is going to deteriorate quickly if her golf game continues to suffer and if she continues to make more headlines for parting ways with another agent than for winning golf tournaments.

I'm quite sure that the executives at Nike and Sony aren't paying her millions of dollars for these results.

Michelle Wie had better get it together quickly because her father may just ruin her golf career before it ever really gets started.

What would I do if I were Michelle Wie you ask? First I would realize that I need to take control of my career and I'd tell my parents that they are no longer going to be handling my off the course dealings. That will be tough for Michelle, but it needs to be done.

Then I would part ways with the William Morris Agency. Too much baggage in that relationship now.

Then I would pick up the phone and call IMG VP of Golf Mark Steinberg - who just happens to manage the highest earning male and female golfers of all time - Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam. I'd tell Steinberg I am ready to take charge of my own life and I'd be honored if he would help me manage my career - and that I would put my full trust in him since he obviously has an incredible track record of success. I'd also call Sorenstam and apologize to her for how I acted at her tournament earlier this year (Wie withdrew citing an injury although she played in another event just a few days later).

If Steinberg and IMG (the company started by Mark McCormick, whose first ever client was a golfer - Arnold Palmer) take Wie under their wing, I really believe that her career can be salvaged.

If Michelle continues to listen to her father B.J. though, this story could have a bad ending.

Stay tuned. The folks at Nike and Sony will be. You can bet on that.