Bush Book: Upon Further Review

If half of what the new Reggie Bush book claims is true, he will lose his Heisman Trophy.

That's saying a lot, considering it sits side-by-side with O.J. Simpson's in the lobby of USC's Heritage Hall.

Don Yaeger's new work, Tarnished Heisman, is the most detailed account of the Reggie Bush scandal we've seen to date. It's doubtful there'll be anything more conclusive unless (or perhaps until) the NCAA releases the results of its investigation.

If this were a work of fiction, it'd still be some good pulp.

The book's case against Bush is built heavily on the testimony of one man, Lloyd Lake, who is at the center of the controversy. Lake, a convicted felon whose past in examined in the book, allegedly provided or arranged for hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits for Bush and his family, much of which went directly to into the hands the USC football star. Lake goes so far as to claim that Bush was the one lobbying to further the partnership, in clear violation of NCAA regulations. He says Bush had to persuade him to follow through, urging, "Let's do it," in a face-to-face meeting.

But wait -- there's more. There are numerous examples of other improper benefits Bush allegedly received, backed by receipts and bank records. Some were from another party -- agent Mike Ornstein (himself a convicted felon). While in college, Bush was an intern at Ornstein's office and, according to the book, both he and his family were well taken care of by the man who would eventually handle the player's marketing as a pro.

The good news for Trojan fans is that there is limited evidence showing that USC had knowledge of any impropriety. As NCAA Executive Director David Price pointed out to the authors, "Charles Woodson of University of Michigan received benefits from an agent. That all became known publicly sometime after he had left the institution. We had no information that there was any institutional knowledge; therefore, we did not take any action against the institution or even bring charges."

Among the worst the book has on USC:

• A USC coach, Todd McNair, was apparently present in San Diego when Bush was staying in a hotel room that he couldn't have afforded on his own. The book says, however, "There is no evidence that McNair knew about the payment."
• The book cites a rumor, emphasis on rumor, that circulated about head coach Pete Carroll receiving an anonymous e-mail that would have tipped him off to inappropriate dealings by Bush's parents.
• A memorabilia dealer reported to the NCAA that he left a message for both Carroll and Athletic Director Mike Garrett about the possible impropriety in the Bush-Ornstein relationship.
• Lake claims that he was in the same room as Bush's stepdad during a call with Carroll discussing the family's questionable housing arrangement.
• Bush's parent got an all-expense paid trip for a game in Hawaii, which might have stood out had people realized Bush wasn't from a wealthy family. While there are also receipts for a flight taken by the family to a game in Berkeley, it's doubtful anybody would have noticed since the town is just a few hours drive from USC.

The book discusses another one of Bush's suspected big perks:

In February 2005, Bush asked for and was given $13,000 -- by Lake -- for the purchase of a car, a 1996 black Impala SS. The car was considered trendy in the neighborhood where Bush grew up ... Bush wanted to upgrade the car and received another $4,000 from Lake to 'pimp' the car with a new stereo, tinted windows, and high-performance tires and rims.

That story is corroborated by Lake's mother.

Of course, a car valued under $40,000 wouldn't have stood out on a campus where parking lots are crammed with top-of-the-line BMWs, Mercedeses and Porches.

Though the evidence against USC isn't that strong, the evidence against Bush appears downright damning. Copies of records used are scheduled to appear soon on www.tarnishedheisman.com.

Additional observations on "Tarnished Heisman:"

• If a $12,000 cash gift was given to Bush to purchase a car, shouldn't that have been reported to the IRS (which, if memory serves, tracks all transactions above $10,000)? Then again, Lake has admitted to not paying taxes in the past.
• The book implies that Bush's situation prevented him from being taken as the #1 pick in the NFL draft.
• Rap mogul Suge Knight and actor Faizon Love were called in to mediate during the scandal. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.
• Reggie Bush and his stepdad exchanged 484 calls with Lake in a nine-month period.

Lake claims that Bush's stepdad quoted the Heisman winner as saying, "Oh, Dad, when I go to the NFL, I am going to leave all those people alone and get rid of them."

So much for that. As the book reports in its closing pages,

A dozen Heisman voters, interviewed for this book, were unanimous: If it is true that Reggie Bush took hundreds of thousands of dollars from Lloyd Lake and Michael Michaels and the NCAA sanctions Bush, "It would make a great statement if we the Heisman voters said enough is enough," said the Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi.

Click here to see the initial reaction post about "Tarnished Heisman."

Click here to vote in the Reggie Bush poll.

Photo by Wally Skalij / LAT

Comments

[Gerry Shuller]

He will "loose" the trophy - how, with WD-40?

[Adam Rose]

LOL -- it's been quite a day. I just corrected the typo.

[ericb]

If Charles Woodson didn't lose his Heisman, why should RB?

[Gerrrg]

Some observations:

1. I think the Ornstein involvement is the most troublesome issue for USC. That seems to be in line with the problems other schools have run into, with regards to institutional oversight.
2. They're not 'gifts' to the IRS, they're earnings. Bush and his family would be in deeper trouble with the IRS if they didn't report this income.
3. The wins would be vacated as opposed to converted into losses, so USC and Pete Carroll aren't that tarnished.
4. I want to see Lake's lawsuit to go to trial. That's going to be the only real way the evidence will be made public and scrutinized under a fair legal system. The NCAA's review isn't necessarily fair, as we all remember what happened to Mike Williams' appeal for reinstatement.

[Scott]

One thing that might tip the balance in Bush losing the Heisman is Vince Young. The committee may be more willing to strip Bush if they have a plausible alternative to give the Heisman to.
However, the chance of USC losing the National Championship is nil, because it's decided by the BCS, not the NCAA. A forfeit would result in either an embarrassing "no 2004 National Champion" for the BCS or open a can of worms as to whether Auburn or Oklahoma (who would be technically undefeated) gets the championship instead. That's the last thing the beleaguered BCS wants right now, and safe to say no matter what punishment the NCAA decides, the BCS will issue some toothless pronouncement over the matter, then stick its head in the sand and hope the whole thing goes away.

[Trojan love]

The BCS has already stated that they would strip USC of the title if cheating was proven.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;_ylt=Alj8Fq.fC1GG.bieo0IDvYI5nYcB?slug=dw-bush042806&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[Doheny]

Trojan love, did you actually read the link you sent?

The headline says "Ineligible Bush COULD dethrone USC."

The second paragraph says that if Bush is ruled ineligible, even for a single game, "the BCS will discuss amending its rules to allow it to force the Trojans to vacate the national championship." That's right -- a discussion! Hardly a single-minded declaration of absolute certainty.

Then BCS adminstrator Bill Hancock says, "This is the type of thing the BCS might have to look into..." Hmm. They "might have to"? And if they do "look into it," do we know what their decision will be?

The BCS, like the Pac-10 and the NCAA, seem to be hemming and hawing, not sure what they should do, not sure what they want to do, and not sure if they'll have to do anything because Bush might not be guilty. My knowledge of the case -- though I haven't yet read the book -- is that improper money may have gone from the agent to Bush's family, so he himself would be clean.

Also, Bush settled with the other New Era investor, but he refused to settle with Lake -- is that because he knew that Lake was lying and trying to blackmail him? If Bush is guilty, wouldn't he have paid Lake to keep quiet?

Just my two cents.

[trojanguy]

ii really don't care what happens to bush; he probably did take a lot of cash. what i care about is USC. those kids should not have to pay for the actions of one rotten apple. if the allegations are correct, the bush should be stripped of the heisman award. for being so stupid.

[tazman2]

How funny that you're trying to separate Bush from the rest of the USC team... Would be nice to see how many games SC would have won without Bush... Don't get me wrong, I would love to see both Bush and SC get punished to the fullest extent. TAKE THE WHOLE SEASON BACK!

[denise]

I say "Leave Bush alone". We should embrace his acheivments as a academic and sprotsman, not question it only because of white imperialist america's denial of a honist African American (and graduate of USC) availability to overcome thier totalitairn ladder. He must have ruffled someones feathers to have made them want to sabotage him like this. And if he did take the money "so what", his crime then was not haveing Mommy and Daddy threaten suit like many other wealthy parents. Like Kobe was set up by Addidas, We must as "Bush is being set up by who?" GO Trojans

[Ted]

The evidence is not strong that the coaches knew what was going on, and the best evidence was the word of Lloyd Lake, a convicted felon. The punishment for SC will be minor if there is any at all.

If Bush loses his Heisman, that's fine. It's clear he broke the rules.

[Bystander]

These are one sided allegations made by a convicted criminal with virtually no evidence- "made calls", "has receipts" and my favorite "Lake's mother corroborated". We know nothing independently about the actual conversations, we have nothing independently about what the receipts were.

I am a business owner who generates six figures worth of receipts and I have a friend who is under investigation for tax violations that i have called or received calls from at least 400 times a year. And that means... Absolutely nothing.

I am not saying that these two guys didn't do anything. I suspect that they wanted to start a marketing company and tried to woo the family. While Bush may have had two working parents at least one- his step father- seems to have spent more time at games than at his job and having witnessed his behavior he looked like the not-too-bright sort who would have schemed along with these guys. All of that is supposition. It is about as valid as what has been offered in the book and by the resident sensationalist Adam Rose.

[PNW Trojan]

If convicted, and USC loses BIG TIME, won't Bush find himself a pauper AGAIN when there's a SC Alum Class Action for fraud and theft?

[Mike]

I'm not for or against USC, but I have to say I have serious problem with the lack of penalty in the Woodson case and potentially in the Bush case. By not holding the programs accountable, they are allowing future recruits to make this their plan:

1.) Go to high profile school
2.) Get paid by agents
3.) Go to NFL
4.) Years later, truth comes out. No effect on school, little to no effect on player

Doesn't the scenario blatantly push players towards high-profile schools, where the agents are swarming? As long as the school doesn't have direct knowledge, they can wash their hands of it.

I really don't want to point in fingers at USC here since this is an NCAA-wide problem, but if you think this scenario is impossible, look at Joe McKnight. What are the two things he's always talking about? Being like Reggie Bush, and making a lot of money (I assume he means in the NFL, or he's pushing for the NCAA to allow more financial benefits to players... which they should).

The Big Question is: If McKnight starts secretly receiving benefits from agents next year, and the school tries but again fails to discover it... is USC still unaccountable?

[Steve]

Why wouldnt the school be punished? Oklahoma had no knowledge of Rhett Bomar's illegal payments but they got hit by the NCAA. How is this any different? OU got "Failure to Monitor" charges from the NCAA. Why wouldnt USC get at least the same?

[pk-in-the-mesa]

LAKE is a LIFE criminal he will always go back in and stay for awhile yhen come out and then go back. How can anyone beleive a guy who will always be saying I DIDN'T DO IT I AM INNOCENT, this will probaly be the first time in his life he will make money legally ( the book ) but will he pay the taxes i think not. He try and put together some scam to not pay and the IRS will get him. But i don't get it about RBs stepdad because this guy was always in the news, so i would have checked this dude out. But what can USC do in that case anyway, i mean the money was all cash and under the table, airline tickets don't cost that much and his parents did have jobs. Really if you go through every college athelics family records, bank accounts, holdings, assists, it would take so much time the sports or persons would be extinct.

THIS JUST ONE MANS OPPINION

USC SHOULD LEAVE PAC-10 AND BECOME AN INDEPENDENT

[Gerrrg]

That's ridiculous, Mike.

These people are adults and they need to accept responsibility for their own actions. They know what is right and wrong...the USC compliance officer makes sure that every student athlete knows this stuff. It doesn't matter if the rules are arcane or ridiculous, if they break the rules they imperil themselves and sometimes those around them.

Let's not make this about USC, when more than anything else, it's about a bunch of individuals making bad choices for themselves and those around them.

You punish the individuals by whatever means available, not those around them. If you punish the peripheral, you only create animosity and an unwillingness to be straightforward on the part of people who's hands cut off.

[nlh]

Before we get into the barrage of comments by Trojan haters who would love to see us get sanctioned, let's reiterate a huge statement above:

"As NCAA Executive Director David Price pointed out to the authors, 'Charles Woodson of University of Michigan received benefits from an agent. That all became known publicly sometime after he had left the institution. We had no information that there was any institutional knowledge; therefore, we did not take any action against the institution or even bring charges.'"

Not one iota of tangible, substantial evidence has been brought forth to prove that USC had any knowledge of these alleged "improper benefits." He said, she said doesn't work.

And just a thought: now that all of Lake's "evidence" on Reggie has been sold to Yaeger for lots of $$, doesn't that weaken Lake's case in court? If I really had a case against someone, I wouldn't want to make all of my evidence public...

[rob]

Who is the bigger criminal in all of this? Bush for taking the money as a 20 year old student who is not getting a cent from USC/Pac 10/NCAA for selling Reggie Bush Jersey's, tee shirts, and using his likeness in commercials.
or Lake and Ornstein as adults who threw their money around in a knowing improper fashion hoping to cash in on a kid. Bush just ended up out smarting them and out of bitterness are trying to portray themselves the victims when in fact they are the true ceiminals.
These are the people who cause college programs to be corrupted not the athlete who accepted the tempting offer, after all who else is stupid enough to just hand out thousands if not hundreds of thousands in knowing violations of law and rules.

[Jon K.]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHHHAAAHAHHAAAHAHA!

HA!

GO BRUINS!

[Finder Binder]

WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!!! Waste of time. This is America. Bottom line is a buck. Stop muckraking good people. Reggie Bush is a good guy who perhaps did a little advance dipping on his skill. Who cares. It's the same thing as steroids in baseball. Let the players do what it takes to be good and have a good time. You prissy ass litigeous m-er-fers suck. You are whats wrong with America. Go away. Good Riddance. You and George Will belong in a septic tank somewhere. Get a life. Leave Reggie Bush alone.

[C]

**TYPICAL WHITES AND JEWS!!!!!**

It is fine coaches and college make MILLIONS off of these athletes, but when a Black man gets a few freebees, it becomes a national incident.

Such is life in America!!

I'm 50 and I've lied and stolen my whole life. It has gotten me far! Only suckers and Uncle Toms play by the rules......that's right, work hard for your pension and social security boy!

But guess what, it probably won't be there!

[Bryan]

As a USC Alum, I can honestly say that if the allegations are true, Reggie should lose his Heisman. I hope Tatupo or Palamula will give up a personal foul the next time they play New Orleans... go for his knees boys.

[Mike]

Gergg,
So your answer is that USC will still be unaccountable if this happens again with McKnight?

You don't think that's a ridiculous advantage in recruiting? There's no disincentive for a kid not to go to USC and take money from agents. Not criticizing USC particularly here, but this was a terrible precedent set in the Woodson case and it shouldn't continue...

[RJM]

Trojan fans and alumni are about to get a reality check. The University of Washington's football program (remember coach James and the 3 straight Rose Bowls?) was completely disassembled by the Pac-10 for infractions that are insignificant when compared to the charges against Bush.

If you think USC can skate, based on lack of knowledge of the situation, take another look at the Washington case. Most of the allegations against Washington happened in LA! A couple of kids being overpaid on Summer jobs. Washington coaches had NO IDEA how much they were making. They went as far as to confirm they were doing the work they were getting paid for, because of a previous problem they had had with boosters. And they were at least WORKING for the money.

It was the PAC-10, LED BY USC, that turned Washington from what it was to what it is. Not the NCAA. So you'll take your lumps and bounce back!? Blue Chippers will be attracted by the fact that they can make money playing for USC? News Flash...Blue Chippers don't end up at schools that can't give them scholarships, because the Pac-10 took them away, wouldn't let them go to bowl games, and wouldn't let them play on TV or share in TV revenue for a few years. Ask any Washington coach since Don James (who left the profession in disgust) how easy its been to rebuild with NONE of the tools available to the other PAC-10 schools.

For all of you Trojan fans and alumni thinking you might get by and it wouldn't be fair to penalize USC because they might not have known what was going on...do some research on the Washington case. And remember, USC and the LA Times led the attack on the Huskies. Payback could be ugly.

The fact that the Pac-10 has taken this long and appears to be hesitating in this case is testament to the political power you wield at USC. Eventually, probably soon, they are going to have to acknowledge the elephant in the living room because the rest of the conference isn't going to let this stuff continue to live under the rug.

In a very few years, and for some time to follow , you'll be living with nothing but memories of your glory years under Pete Carrol.

RJM