On This Day
University of Southern California guard O.J. Mayo
O.J. Mayo Scandal Is Latest for USC
May 13, 2008 07:00 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
by Denis Cummings
The revelation that USC basketball star O.J. Mayo received cash and gifts indirectly from a sports agent joins the list of the school’s recent infractions.
The revelation that USC basketball star O.J. Mayo received cash and gifts indirectly from a sports agent joins the list of the school’s recent infractions.
30-Second Summary
According to an investigation by ESPN's Outside the Lines, over the past four years event promoter Rodney Guillory has given Mayo over $30,000 in cash, clothing and other gifts. Guillory has received payments from sports agency Bill Duffy Associates, the same agency Mayo signed with when he turned pro last month.
Mayo met Guillory in 2003, when he was a 15-year old basketball phenom. Guillory became Mayo’s mentor and helped guide his basketball career.
A Huntington, W.V. native, Mayo bounced around high schools in Kentucky, Ohio and Huntington and was suspended several times for misconduct on and off the court.
He was nonetheless one of the most coveted college recruits in the country and received many offers; USC, however, did not try to recruit Mayo.
In the summer of 2006, the summer before his senior year at Huntington High School, Mayo committed to USC out of the blue. He claimed that he wanted to play in Los Angeles to market his image, but he also wanted to be closer to Guillory, who lives less than 10 miles from campus.
The latest revelations surprise few. Many college basketball observers suspected that there was something shady about his recruitment. Mayo was a “player everyone in Hoopsworld strongly suspected was no amateur before he set foot in Los Angeles,” writes ESPN’s Pat Forde.
The USC athletic department is familiar with scandal and criticism. The Mayo scandal reminds many of NFL player and former Trojan Reggie Bush, who accepted money from aspiring sports agents in 2004–06.
The football team has received no penalties from the NCAA. The basketball team, however, may be facing stiff penalties in the wake of the Mayo scandal, a low APR score and the suspicious recruitment of rapper Romeo.
Mayo met Guillory in 2003, when he was a 15-year old basketball phenom. Guillory became Mayo’s mentor and helped guide his basketball career.
A Huntington, W.V. native, Mayo bounced around high schools in Kentucky, Ohio and Huntington and was suspended several times for misconduct on and off the court.
He was nonetheless one of the most coveted college recruits in the country and received many offers; USC, however, did not try to recruit Mayo.
In the summer of 2006, the summer before his senior year at Huntington High School, Mayo committed to USC out of the blue. He claimed that he wanted to play in Los Angeles to market his image, but he also wanted to be closer to Guillory, who lives less than 10 miles from campus.
The latest revelations surprise few. Many college basketball observers suspected that there was something shady about his recruitment. Mayo was a “player everyone in Hoopsworld strongly suspected was no amateur before he set foot in Los Angeles,” writes ESPN’s Pat Forde.
The USC athletic department is familiar with scandal and criticism. The Mayo scandal reminds many of NFL player and former Trojan Reggie Bush, who accepted money from aspiring sports agents in 2004–06.
The football team has received no penalties from the NCAA. The basketball team, however, may be facing stiff penalties in the wake of the Mayo scandal, a low APR score and the suspicious recruitment of rapper Romeo.
Headline Link: ‘Mayo received money, perks from agent reps’
The ESPN investigation was aided by a former member of Mayo and Guillory’s inner circle, Louis Johnson. Johnson had a falling out with Guillory, whom Johnson described as a “runner,” a middleman who convinces an athlete to sign with a certain sports agent. Guillory was given money by Bill Duffy Associates to spend on O.J. Mayo, with the understanding that Mayo would sign with BDA once he turned pro.
Source: ESPN
Key Player: O.J. Mayo
A nationally known player since middle school, Mayo had coaches, agents and sneaker companies trying to dictate his future. Mayo was raised by a single mother and, according to Seth Davis, who reported on the circuslike atmosphere that surrounded Mayo in 2006, Mayo had received “little guidance from trustworthy adults.” Davis went on to say that he had a “disquieting feeling the USS O.J. was fast becoming a rudderless ship.”
Source: Sports Illustrated
During the summer of 2006, Guillory walked into Tim Floyd’s office and asked “How would you like to have the best player in the country?” Later, Mayo would call Floyd to tell him he was going to USC, even though he had not been recruited or even visited the campus.
Source: New York Times (free registration may be required)
In January 2007, Mayo was suspended after receiving two technical fouls and then making contact with the referee. With two high-profile games coming up, Mayo went to court and won a temporary restraining order that let him play the two games.
Source: ESPN
Background: USC’s dysfunctional athletic department
Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and his family received cash and gifts through aspiring agents Lloyd Lake—who was interviewed on HBO’s Real Sports—and Michael Michaels. Lake and Michaels entered a business agreement with Bush’s stepfather, LaMar Griffin, to start a sports agency, New Era Sports. The Lake and Michaels-funded New Era gave Bush cash, bought him a car, paid for hotel rooms and bought the Griffin family a $750,000 house. The NCAA launched an investigation, but have yet to penalize USC.
Source: Yahoo
USC has offered a scholarship to Romeo Miller, son of rapper Master P and a successful recording artist in his own right. Miller is not considered a Division I-level player, but he has a close relationship with Demar DeRozan, one of the highest-rated recruits in the country. Most observers believe that USC wants Miller only to entice DeRozan, which is technically not illegal.
Source: Wall Street Journal (free registration may be required)
Last week, the NCAA released its Academic Progress Rate report, which penalizes teams that fall below established academic standards. The USC basketball team had one of the worst APR scores in the country and was penalized two scholarships.
Source: Los Angeles Times (free registration may be required)
Opinion & Analysis: Give USC the death penalty
ESPN’s Pat Forde argues that USC turned a blind eye to Mayo’s relationship with Guillory, just as it did to Bush’s relationship with Lake and Michaels. He suggests giving USC the “death penalty,” a one-year suspension of the basketball team, but concedes that it will never happen. He goes on to discuss the influence of agents and runners in college basketball, which extends well beyond USC. “It’s a problem the NCAA desperately needs to get a grip on if college basketball is going to maintain even a hint of a legitimate relationship to higher education,” he concludes.
Source: ESPN
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