Or perhaps a better question: does Yahoo! have it in for Reggie Bush?
As usual, Yahoo! Sports is the first to the scene for all your Reggie Bush/NCAA Violation News. "Tarnished Heisman," a book by Don Jaeger and Jim Henry, will be released in January of 2008 and will reportedly include transcripts of conversations Bush had with New Era Sports & Entertainment. Those conversations allegedly include Bush "acknowledging he owed money" to Lloyd Lake and Michael Michaels, owners of the now-failed sports agency, while still a student-athlete at USC.
From Yahoo! Sports:
Meanwhile, the NCAA interviewed three people this week who claim knowledge of the approximately $300,000 in cash and other benefits allegedly given to Bush by Lake and Michaels. The benefits included Bush's family living rent-free in a new home in a San Diego suburb for one year. Bush also allegedly received money for a car, spending money and had hotel stays paid for. Other allegations include furniture being purchased for the Bush family, travel expenses paid and free dinners provided.
Yaeger is a former writer and editor for Sports Illustrated who has written 14 books. Henry is a sportswriting veteran of more than 20 years with The St. Petersburg Times, The Tampa Tribune and The Tallahassee Democrat.
The way Yahoo! touts Yaeger's and Henry's credentials, you'd think they were stakehorsing them for a Pulitzer Prize nomination. Armed thusly, they conclude:
Yaeger said he believes the book could prove significant in pushing forward the NCAA investigation and ultimately lead to Bush losing the Heisman. No player has ever been stripped of the award. The Heisman Trust would decide Bush's fate. This year's Heisman will be presented Saturday in New York.And it's not just the Bush's Heisman Trophy that's at stake, says Yahoo!:
"My belief is that Heisman voters will have another decision to make in the near future," Yaeger said.
In the book, Lloyd Lake discusses how he first met Bush when the running back was a star at Helix High in San Diego. They maintained a relationship over the years and allegedly agreed late in 2004 to start the sports marketing company.So is it fact or fiction? The NCAA is investigating, but does Reggie Bush need to answer the phone? Why is Yahoo! Sports always so heavily involved in this story?
Their relationship would coincide with the end of the 2004 season, when USC went undefeated and won the national championship against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. Thus, the investigation could jeopardize the Trojans' title.
FanHouse take: I think we're seeing too much smoke to preclude a fire at this point. The NCAA's investigation is key; Bush no longer plays college football, and the Heisman Trophy is awarded by a private organization not connected with the NCAA. The question is whether Southern Cal will feel the repercussions, or if it's Reggie Bush's reputation alone which will shoulder the burden of this scandal.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-07-2007 @ 5:07PM
nyc said...
I'm sure Reggie, in his mom's house that USC bought for him, with his $58M NFL contract is crying right as you read this.
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12-07-2007 @ 5:16PM
1000Steps said...
He absolutely should lose his Heisman and SC should lose the NC. It's funny how this really hasn't gotten more pub.
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12-07-2007 @ 5:45PM
ron said...
What the hell does it matter now???????????????
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12-07-2007 @ 5:49PM
Ryan said...
(Warning Conspiracy Theory-esque post)
It's not really that much "funny" as it is expected. Bush is the new face of the NFL, or all of those promoting it tried to make him as such coming into the new season. Think about the people who would take (theoretically) monetary hits from an NFL black eye, CBS, FOX, ESPN/ABC, & the NFL. Now, of the entities that report sports news heavily, especially those with websites, this covers ESPN.com, FoxSports.com, Sportsline.com, & NFL.com. Which pretty much leaves Yahoo to report the news. I'd bet that's why they seem a lot quicker to find and report news such as this, because it in no way shoots themselves in the foot.
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12-07-2007 @ 6:21PM
Yahoo? That's like Google-lite right? said...
Right, because the NFL would come crumbling down if it turns out Bush got some cash in college, how unusual for a collegiate athlete. It's not like it would have even affected his performance. The only people that find this even mildly interesting are those same people that always love to see the guys on top yanked down to their lowly level.
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12-07-2007 @ 7:22PM
wildcat1144 said...
So who made more money off of Bush's name/performance while he was at USC?
A)Reggie and his family
B) USC
C) NCAA
It sure as hell wasn't Reggie Bush.
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12-07-2007 @ 7:43PM
Jim said...
I've followed college football a lot and it seems a lot of schools have did less and almost gotten the death pentily for such. To take one for instance is the Alabama trouble with the Ncaa. I've seen AOL hound this school real hard myself. But, now that the Ncaa has had to pay 5 million dollars for wrong doing in this case you see very little AOL news on it. It seem the media choose who to go after. BUT NOT USC and BUSH..
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12-07-2007 @ 8:50PM
Russ Horton said...
Heisman Award dumbest award of all sports award totally out of character in todays sport of footballthis award should be forgotten and discarded only morons put any importance to award certainly not the NFL so stop the pretentions already! ! !
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12-07-2007 @ 9:06PM
coach said...
If he went to Notre Dame it would never of bneen mentioned like the booster who paid to take the athletes to vegas and nothing happened they are just hunting for sc because then have dominated football just like when LSU was playing in the title game when sc was ranked #1
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12-07-2007 @ 9:11PM
David said...
must be a slow sports day for this type of rubbish to be a head line. who cares at this point!
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12-07-2007 @ 10:01PM
Rich Schumacher said...
The NCAA has stated they were investigating Bush and the Quarterback and it will take about 8 more years. The fox is in the henhouse.
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12-07-2007 @ 10:38PM
mrspepperthecow said...
They should let him keep his Heisman but give one to Vince.
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12-07-2007 @ 10:38PM
Dublinsaab said...
Yes, Yahoo has it out for Bush.
That said, if it comes out that Yahoo is right then buh bye Heisman.
I guess that would make Vince the winner.
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12-07-2007 @ 10:52PM
nickstoli said...
Who cares? If you're not a star in the NFL, a Heisman and five bucks gets you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
Ask Gino Torreta. Ask Chris Wenke. Ask the other guys who won Heisman's who never amounted to anything in the NFL. Most of their names escape me.
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12-07-2007 @ 11:08PM
KGar said...
Rather hypocritical at this point isn't it? Lets see, $52 million contract or piece of metal........ take the bucks, live well. Football players get cash at every major university, one form or another, NCAA as always is such a joke. Speaking of wrongdoing, anyone notice AJ Hawk during the Green Bay-Dallas game, looks like the roids wore off, he lost a lot of weight, don't see the NCAA checking pharmacy at OSU do you. Different standards I guess, tradition as they say, lol.
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12-08-2007 @ 1:01AM
FRED said...
"Reggie Bush Rocks"!
Instantly Turn your Computer into a Super TV!
http://www.television-on-internet.com/
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12-08-2007 @ 8:47AM
mdchair said...
We should be clear about what happened. There never was a LEGAL entity called New Era Sports and Entertainment. The company was only in the planning stages. Importantly, the idea behind the proposed entity, New Era Sports and Entertainment, was largely that of Reggie Bush. In effect, he was involved in the planning of the proposed company from the beginning. Reggie had hoped to use his status as a football celebrity to create a marketing firm to make money off of his name. Remember at the time, Reggie was heralded as a football talent who only comes along once in a lifetime. The NCAA was making millions of dollars off of Reggie’s name and his working on the football field. For Reggie, it was only logical that if others were making money off of Reggie’s work, Reggie and his family should make reap some of the financial rewards.
To make the dream of a sports marketing firm come to fruition, Reggie and childhood friend Lloyd Lake sought out and found an investor willing to financially back up Reggie’s idea. The investor paid cash money to Reggie, financed trips for Reggie and his family, arranged for a car for Reggie, and bought a house for Reggie’s family to live in – at the bequest of Reggie himself. To reiterate, Reggie knew exactly what was happening, because he was largely the one orchestrating the project.
There really is not much to dispute here. Reggie agreed to enter into a business arrangement with an investor and a childhood friend. There is nothing illegal about what Reggie did. It is against the rules of the NCAA. However, it is not illegal.
Because it was against NCAA rules, Reggie kept the agreement a secret. Reggie’s problems began when he did not follow through on his commitment. The investor demanded that Reggie return the money that had been invested in him. Reggie has all but admitted that he took money from the investor, while a student at USC. Reggie settled out of court and repaid around $300 thousand to the investor. It is also important to note that Reggie and his family also took money from the firm of his present agent, Mike Ornstein, while playing football at USC. Again, there is no dispute here.
In working with an investor to start a business, Reggie did nothing illegal. However, Reggie and his family could face legal charges of income tax evasion. Apparently, Reggie and his family never declared that they had received money from the investor. USC has been strangely silent throughout the investigation. They knew that Reggie was receiving financial benefits above what the NCAA allowed. The only question is when USC knew. But, expect USC to forfeit almost two full seasons and be stripped of the National NCAA championship that occurred in Reggie’s sophomore year.
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12-08-2007 @ 9:16AM
John Doe said...
yeah...give one to vince...that would make two players that are already washed up and overrated.
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12-08-2007 @ 9:53AM
Randal Palm said...
Funny how many sports folks went nuts when Bama was involved in playing a player.......but Bush and USC...it takes YAHOO to keep the story alive...and the NCAA is taking HOW LONG to conduct an investigation??? The NCAA is dirty, as shown by the recent $5 million court ruling against them, and they conveniently ignore certain schools.......like Ohio State, for instance, while keeping an anal probe up others.........maybe its time colleges let the NCAA know who is in charge.....or who should be
you can bet that NOTHING will happen to USC....even though it appears pretty clear Bush was on the take while playing there. (Which would mean EVERY game he played in should be forfeited, as the NCAA has forced other schools to do)....watch and see.....USC is the poster boy for the NCAA, they are a "teflon" school.........they will get away free and clear. BET THE HOUSE ON IT!!!!!!!
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12-08-2007 @ 11:56AM
wallo the orange said...
Per chance that Bush has his Heisman Trophy taken away,--------- will that taint the vote he cast for this years [ 2007 ] winner??
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