O.J. F.A.Q. 1.0

The O.J. Mayo situation continues to evolve and has left people with a lot of questions. Over the coming weeks I'll try to break down the situation with an ever-evolving F.A.Q. (frequently asked questions). This is version 1.0. If you're in a rush, I'll boil my opinion down to one sentence:

O.J. Mayo broke the rules and Tim Floyd had better start explaining things.

Did O.J. Mayo definately receive extra benefits?

Despite his denial, I have a really hard time believing Mayo. There are two things nobody can ignore:

1. ESPN's Kelli Naqi did an online chat with a red-handed revelation:

OJ told Katz last night that he did not "receive any money from Calvin or Rodney or anything." However, the cell phone number that Katz used to get that quote from Mayo was the same number that shows up on Mayo's September cell phone bill, which we obtained, which shows that that number was billed to Guillory's non-profit organization in California called the ICR Foundation. We also obtained proof that Guillory made the initial purchase of that particular cell phone of OJ's."

2. ESPN also did its due diligence on the clothes:

Johnson said Mayo shopped for about an hour that day. When it came time to pay for the purchases, Guillory pulled out an American Express card and charged the bill of $2,300 -- which, the sales clerk said later, included a discount of about 15 percent because of "who [Mayo] was." Johnson provided a copy of the receipt from the purchase to ESPN's "Outside the Lines," which verified the shopping spree by interviewing the clerk who assisted Mayo with his purchases. The clerk remembered Mayo and Guillory making multiple trips to the store, Men's Land in Carson, Calif., during the school year. A clerk at another Men's Land location in Culver City also remembered helping Mayo shop with Guillory, and said he recalled Guillory paying the bill for Mayo's merchandise.

Not only are there independent witnesses corroborating the story, but Mayo is still answering a cellphone that was paid for through illicit funds.

How did nobody notice Reggie Bush's car or O.J. Mayo's flat-screen TV?

If you have to ask, you've never been to USC.

First, Bush's car: The campus must have the highest ratio of luxury cars-to-teenagers this side of Dubai. I'm not saying that it's impossible to notice these things, but Impalas are easily outnumbered by M3s and 911s.

Second, Mayo's TV: Not only does the same issue of "ostentatious relativity" come into play, what about the privacy of these kids? Are coaches expected to do room inspections? These are kids. Many are teenagers. Are we really trying to make sports that invasive?

What is a lack of institutional control?

A lack of institutional control is serious corruption, negligence or incompetence on the part of a school or university. That's my one sentence synopsis of this statement issued by the NCAA (PDF file) and its  actions against several schools over the last decade. The term is probably thrown around a little too liberally. It's generally a reference to internal issues like administrators changing grades or assistant coaches buying meals for recruits. Another prime example is when a school allows a player to compete or practice when he or she is academically ineligible.

Is USC demonstrating a lack of institutional control?

Let's split this into internal and external. Around the same time I was writing this, Athletic Director Mike Garrett was also making the distinction:

Historically, it's always been inside. Now, we're talking outside for the first time.

Internally is where the "textbook" institutional control cases are made. USC is extremely vigilant on this level. In football, Joe McKnight wasn't allowed to finish spring practice after he dropped a class. In basketball, it was the school, not the NCAA, that ruled O.J. Mayo ineligible to play after he received tickets to a Lakers game. The NCAA quickly reinstated him.

Externally, the football program seems to be in the clear. Although it got burned on the Reggie Bush situation, it doesn't appear that anybody at the school was really aware of what was going on. When that happens, the NCAA expects changes to be made that will prevent repeat violations. USC did so. For example, Pete Carroll has somebody checking IDs at the gates of open football practices and actively monitors for agents.

Basketball? Externally? That's the $30,000 question. The relationship between Rodney Guillory and the program warrants a lot more scrutiny. Under Coach Henry Bibby, USC lost the services of Jeff Trepagnier for about a third of the season in 2000-01 because Guillory paid for him to fly to Vegas. Seven years later, Floyd allowed the guy back around the program. Although the school prohibited Mayo from giving tickets to Guillory (another good sign of institutional control), Floyd has a lot of questions to answer.

Floyd has taken some other gambles recently, which leaves him open to criticism and, yes, questions about institutional control. Mayo was one of two freshmen this year already in his 20s. Davon Jefferson was the other and he had a lot of academic concerns coming in. Leonard Washington is coming in next year and also brings some baggage. Then you have Compton High superstar DeMar DeRozan, who committed to USC with Beverly Hills High celebu-athlete Romeo Miller. I don't buy it when Floyd says it wasn't a package deal. Floyd wanted DeRozan. He's best friends with Miller, a point guard who didn't get a scholarship offer from any other school in the nation. Add in the fact that USC already has plenty of guards, and the whole thing appears shady.

Ultimately, two high-profile cases (Bush and Mayo) don't equal a lack of institutional control. However, Floyd needs to come clean about the relationship with Guillory. That's the No. 1 question people should be asking.

USC men's basketball is struggling academically -- how does that factor in?

The team's pathetic APR is technically unrelated but speaks volumes about the unhealthy environment around college hoops. In other words, I don't think Floyd or USC could have done anything about three guys bolting early for the NBA and not finishing classes. I do think the NBA should step in and help. See the next question.

Is there anything that can be done to prevent this mess from happening again?

I'm glad you asked. Check out this post for a creative solution.

Can you compare and contrast the Bush case and the Mayo case?

In both cases, there were individuals who allegedly got extra benefits and should lose any personal honors (Heisman Trophy, freshman scoring records) that were earned if guilty of receiving extra benefits. In both cases, the extra benefits weren't too flashy around campus and wouldn't have been immediately obvious to the school.

In the Reggie Bush case, I don't think USC realistically could have known everything that was going on nor was there significant reason to be suspicious. Even the initial concerns over Bush interning for Mike Ornstein were assuaged because Ornstein couldn't technically become a sports agent. The school learned a lot from the situation. So did the NCAA. This was a whole new experience for all involved.

In the O.J. Mayo case, USC had plenty of reason to be suspicious and probably should have been more vigilant about the relationship of Guillory to Mayo and the program. There was nothing that new or that crafty. There were questions about Guillory during the Trepagnier era. There were questions about Guillory when Mayo was being recruited. The questions were even brought directly to Mike Garrett and evidently filtered down through the program.

What will likely happen to Mayo and USC?

It's not like he set any major records, but I think all of Mayo's individual accomplishments will be stricken from the books. Beyond that, nobody has any real recourse against Mayo.

USC's punishment could hinge on Guillory. Anybody saying "USC should fry" or calling for the so-called death penalty is just trying to stir the pot. The best comparison is to Michigan's Fab Five, where the problem was bigger but the punishment wasn't nearly as harsh as critics are calling for against USC. A blog called Maize n Brew has an excellent evaluation of the situation.

Ultimately, I think USC could see its 2007-08 wins forfeited. There's also the possibility of lost scholarships, a year of post-season ineligibility and some form of probation. The degree of punishment should be connected to the relationship Guillory had with the program and what the school should have known about him.

When will we know more about Mayo?

Because Johnson's been so cooperative, this should move faster than the Reggie Bush case. At the same time, it could take awhile. USC will cooperate with the NCAA but will keep everything hush-hush until the last possible second. Don't expect Mayo, Guillory, Floyd, USC or anybody else to issue any meaningful statements in the immediate future. It's a shame, because I'd love to know more about Guillory's relationship with the school.

Can the agency be connected to the benefits?

The Mayo-Guillory connection appears to be pretty iron-clad. Until somebody releases PDFs of the paperwork that ESPN received, I'm not so sure about the connection between DBA Sports and Mayo/Guillory. As far as I can tell, this connection comes down to Louis Johnson's word versus everybody else.

What's the worst part?

The fact that Guillory allegedly set up a fake charity to pay for Mayo's benefits. That's just wrong.

Comments

[Bruce Jaffe]

First, let me say I am a USC alumnus.
If O.J. knew what he was doing, it was wrong and he should be punished, although, since he is out of school, I don’t know who or what will happen.
If USC was aware of any of the allegations and did not move to stop it, they should also be punished.

But where is the call for the perpetrator, the one who knowingly went after O.J. and induced him to break the rules, to be punished??? BDA benefits from its rule-breaking. Everyone else suffers. It would be great if you would at least cover the story from that perspective. And, one might suggest to USC that they have a legal cause of action against BDA for knowingly inducing Mayo to break the NCAA rules, thus interfering with USC’s basketball program. Maybe if a few schools went after these unscrupulous agents for money, which is all they understand, the situation could be corrected.

[Bruin_Bry]

I'm all for that. SC should go after BDA if a connection between BDA and Guillory proves to be true. Otherwise, the message being sent is who cares if we get caught? Invest a few hundred grand and make millions later.

Floyd, as good of a coach as he is, needs to go! Inexcusable for him to allow Guillory that close to the program knowing what transpired w/ Trapagnier.

[Ruggedly]

Don't you almost get the feeling this "Improper Benefits" controversy is a very integrated systematic form of racism? If not at least just outright socioeconomic prejudice. It's pretty easy for upper class kids to make it through school without needing to take financial help...

http://properbloggery.com/2008/05/13/quick-fix-for-oj/

[HBC]

I agree that the bigger issue is the socioeconomic prejudice (and the related race component). The Kevin Loves and Matt Leinarts of the world and their parents don't need to succumb because they aren't living check to check and can afford to get their kids the flatscreens and clothes outright. For kids and moms who have grown up with nothing all their lives, it's impossible not to accept the money they dangle in front of them, especially when they're just trying to make rent. Unless you've been there, you can't criticize, especially when you also factor how much money SC made off Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo.