I don't know about you, but I'm still waiting for that "documentation" from Bill Duffy to show that he had no ties to Rodney Guillory and O.J. Mayo. Same with O.J. Mayo proving he paid for his stuff.To be honest, I really expected the whole matter to go no where. Much like the Reggie Bush matter for USC, the main characters have been out of reach for the NCAA. Guillory, Mayo and Duffy can not be compelled, nor does the NCAA have any influence over them, to cooperate.
So while USC and their coaches have to cooperate, the Trojan athletic department can claim ignorance and there's little the NCAA can do to disprove it.
Well, maybe not.
The California attorney general's office is investigating whether funds from a sickle cell anemia charity were illegally used to pay for benefits to former USC basketball player O.J. Mayo, a state Department of Justice special agent said Friday.The NCAA may not have subpoena power, but the state does. Credit card bills, leave a heck of a paper trail and Guillory reportedly utilized a card registered to the questionable charity.
Special agent Danny Kim in Los Angeles said he is looking into whether "any funds or credit cards were taken or used under the foundation's name and used for other purposes."
That, of course, will go back to who paid for goods that Mayo claims he bought himself.
Mayo also said he paid his own way when he went shopping and ate with Guillory.
"I understand compliance and I understand the rules," Mayo said. "Any meal, I wouldn't pay for everybody but I would at least pay my end. When I went to go shop every once in a while, [Guillory] might have taken me to the store in his vehicle, but he didn't pay for any clothes for me."
"I understand compliance and I understand the rules," Mayo said. "Any meal, I wouldn't pay for everybody but I would at least pay my end. When I went to go shop every once in a while, [Guillory] might have taken me to the store in his vehicle, but he didn't pay for any clothes for me."
I wonder what Mayo would say if actually under oath and a verified paper trail? Perjury is not worth it when, even if he admits to taking the money, Mayo faces no actual consequences.
Any state investigation would not only provide more information to the NCAA and Pac-10 in their re-opened look into O.J. Mayo and his time at USC, but it would also impact Bill Duffy and his company. The NBA Players Association has their own investigation into whether BDA was tampering with Mayo via Guillory.
Unlike the Reggie Bush lawsuit with the wannabe promoters, this matter is not a civil suit. Settling out of court is not an option for Mayo and Duffy. Short of getting the state to drop the investigation, this case may actually impact USC.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-02-2008 @ 11:54PM
George B Vieto said...
The USC basketball program is in deep trouble. Death penalty don't hold your breath.
Reply
6-02-2008 @ 11:56PM
Kevin C. said...
stealing from charity, you can't get lower than that
Reply
6-03-2008 @ 9:21AM
insomniac said...
Well Kevin, if the charity was bogus to begin with and it's director, ex-con Tony Hicks, never solicited funds from the public but rather from BDA sports, then it isn't stealing from charity so much as it's providing a tax shelter and quasi-money laundering.
Here's an interesting question posed by another site. Remember when OJ Mayo was seen sitting courtside at the Lakers game and to make nice with the NCAA, he had to make a donation to charity in an amount equal to the face value of the tickets he received from 'Melo? Well, what if the charity he gave the money to was none other than the National Organization of Sickle Cell Prevention and Awareness Foundation? Then things could get really interesting.
Reply
6-03-2008 @ 9:27AM
tanning lotion said...
The NCAA really needs to let the athletes get paid something. It would stop some of this.
Reply
6-03-2008 @ 9:28AM
alejandro de Castro said...
They are paid something. It's called tuition. And they get a per diem. All they have to do is play basketball, wait to get drafted and then cash in. The rest of us get stuck with school loans that take years to pay off, and jobs that don't pay millions. The NCAA will NEVER pay their 'student athletes' anything, ever. The entire situation is so complex, and their are so many factors involved. Guys like Mayo, and Bron, who are told from a very young age that they are the second coming, really don't believe, don't understand, or just don't care. Remember Lebrons hum-v? I saw Mayo rolling through downtown LA, while playing at USC, driving a Porsche Cayenne Turbo. Months later he said he rode his bike to class. Like everything else though, the few bad seeds stick out while many of these athletes do understand and appreciate the education that is being handed to them. A very tiny percentage of them actually will make any money in the NBA, and most of the time its the few that don't care about these rules that end up doing so.
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6-04-2008 @ 8:44AM
College Basketball Picks said...
Does this story really suprise anyone?
Reply