That must have been a fun meeting with so many different agendas.Investigators from the NCAA and Pacific 10 Conference and officials from USC have met with Louis Johnson to discuss his allegations that a sports agency funneled money to basketball star O.J. Mayo through an intermediary before and during his one season at USC.The one common thread between the three interests meeting with Johnson and his attorneys would be what USC knew or should have known about O.J. Mayo receiving money and/or goods from Rodney Guillory -- the now ex-lead member of the Mayo Entourage who provided Mayo with his benefits.
In a seven-hour meeting Monday at the Los Angeles office of one of Johnson's attorneys, NCAA investigators led the questioning of Johnson and reviewed receipts that the former Mayo confidant had provided to ESPN for an "Outside the Lines" report that aired last month, Johnson attorney David M. Murphy said.
I'm guessing that after a 7-hour meeting that included examination of the physical evidence, the USC representatives offered to pick up the lunch/dinner tab for the NCAA and Pac-10 investigators.
Unlike the federal probes, Murphy said the NCAA and Pac-10 investigation was "clearly looking more toward anything USC may have done or turned a blind eye to." USC could face sanctions including a forfeiture of victories, probation, scholarship losses or a postseason ban if it is proved that Mayo accepted money in violation of NCAA rules.
Spokespeople for the NCAA and Pac-10 said they would not comment on potential or ongoing investigations.Granted, all this is coming from Johnson's attorneys who are going all out to paint their client as a noble soul on the path to redemption.
Salerno said investigators would attempt to determine whether USC was "negligent of institutional oversight" for ignoring or failing to sufficiently scrutinize Guillory, who helped deliver Mayo to USC after being linked to inappropriate contact with former Southland-based players Jeff Trepagnier at USC and Tito Maddox at Fresno State in 2000.
Murphy said that Johnson made his accusations in an attempt to fix a system in which adults exploit underprivileged star athletes such as Mayo. Johnson is writing a book about the problem.Johnson is hardly a saint. But as we have learned repeatedly in sports over the past few years, it is not the "good guys" who seem to be the ones that reveal the most about the dark side. It's the ones who participated and then either need the money -- like Jose Canseco -- or just want to get even -- Reggie Bush accuser Lloyd Lake.
"His take on the situation is not just O.J., but the kids that get wrapped up in situations like this, they're kind of the victim because on the large part they're kids that grew up with nothing," Murphy said. "People like in O.J.'s situation, they're on the doorstep of having everything. They have people dangling the carrot in front of their face, and no matter how decent of a person you are you'd be hard-pressed to not at least take a long look at that."
Meanwhile, it's been a month since Bill Duffy and his firm BDA said they would be able to provide documentation proving a lack of connection to Rodney Guillory. Still waiting.
