Talkin' Mayo

I'm working on a post called O.J. F.A.Q. 1.0, which will go up soon. In the meantime, here's a clip of me trying to put some perspective on the whole O.J. Mayo situation.

Thanks to "First Take" for having me on this morning. I think I swapped a "Rodney" for "Ronald." I also want to be clear that everything at this stage is a Star Jones special: "allegedly." I used the term a few times but I probably could have used it more. Regardless, I think some of the ESPN discoveries about alleged extra benefits are practically irrefutable. More on that in the FAQ.

Comments

[Matt]

Adam,

First, I love how you dismiss anyone critical of the LA Times coverage of SC as a UCLA fan.

I can't believe you actually believe that stuff you are reporting. OJ just popped into SC's office, LOL this stuff is so rampant at SC you have to be blind not to be able to report it.

So again either you and the Times are ignoring it, or honestly the Times sports staff needs to be hung out to dry.

It will be interesting to see if the LA Times will ever writes anythign critical of SC.

[silverlakebruin]

Its hard to take a "journalist" seriously where he has two different biographies for the two blogs he writes for. On the USC blog, he is a USC graduate. On the UCLA, blog, no mention is made of this, and instead he is someone who grew up in a home divided by USC/UCLA.

If you won't even disclose in your bio on the UCLA blog that you went to USC, how in the world can you be trusted to report the entire story?

[Bobak]

Actually, what's most amusing about the accusations flying above is that the posters clearly haven't read the LA Times to any extent over the past decade that I have. Look up the countless, countless Simers, Plaschke and straight-news articles written about USC's travails through the lean times (pre-Carroll and the first few Carroll seasons), the whole Bush situation, etc.

Then again, who reads anymore, huh? Internet users certainly don't --but they do accuse!

[Jason Hou]

Adam - As a USC fan, I'm slightly embarrassed by how desperately hard you try to cover up for our school and rationalize all of the mistakes and oversights that USC made. This is poor journalism and the segment you posted is clearly viewed through the lens of someone too closely tied to USC to do objective reporting. Our school made tremendous mistakes or at least negligently (maybe intentionally) overlooked a lot of evidence and warning signs in this case and the Reggie case, we did not investigate our players enough. It's time we take ownership and make changes... those changes won't occur if we keep trying to rationalize all of this and make excuses. Let's admit our mistake, accept whatever penalties, and make institutional changes so we won't have this problem again.

[uwlud]

Mayo and bush and usc are CHEATERS and need to be held accountable. NO NCAA TOURNEY FOR FIVE YEARS, NO BOWL GAMES FOR FIVE YRS AND NO RECRUITING FOR TWO YEARS EACH. YOUR'E A LOW LIFE CHEATERS USC, SO MAN UP AND GIVE BACK THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP .IF THE PAC TEN AND THE NCAA DON'T PENALIZE YOU TOTHE MAX THERE IS NO JUSTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gary]

uwlud - its a good thing the internet is anonymous because you just made a big fool of yourself - whoever you are. Its embarrassing to imagine there are ignorant people like you that have nothing better to do then vent their frustration with the world at USC. Either contribute something meaningful to the discussion or just stay under your rock. Meanwhile, for the handful of posters here that actually have a brain, just because Adam will not condemn USC for unproven allegations does not make him biased - it makes him a journalist.

[akamoroti]

Good Job Adam. I thought you gave very logical response, with a smooth delivery. There are always more than one side to a story, so far the majority of the media is only reporting one side, as they usually do, you did a good job of explaining other variables that might have to do with the situation. You didn't try to convince anyone that you knew what exactly happened but you shed light on other options, well done and well said.

[Defender90]

Your perspective was spot-on, Adam. As of right now, USC should definitely have known better than to allow Guillory to hang around the program, given his past history causing trouble for both USC and Fresno State. Regardless of what the NCAA decides, USC should take action itself in accepting responsibility for that choice and deciding how to correct this moving forward.

Unlike Jason, I do not lump the Bush saga in with this. I still want to hear the evidence proving USC had any idea who was making Reggie Bush's parents' house payment.

[trojanman]

Nice job, A-Rose! These involve agents working kids and their families away from SC. Guillory note was good, someone needs to explain why that guy was allowed on campus. Compliance dept, please step up and keep the Guillorys, Lakes, etc. off campus.

[Adam Rose]

Thanks for the feedback, everybody!

Anybody who thinks I'm blindly defending USC, please remember the question in the segment relates to the concept of "institutional control." I've addressed that extensively in a post called O.J. F.A.Q. 1.0.

Based on what I've seen so far, Mayo/USC should and will be punished. I'm just not convinced that it'll be for lack of institutional control.

[louG]

Nice breakdown Adam, but I don't like your perpetuation of the stereotype that USC as a bastion of rich "trust fund kids" - There are no more 911's and BMW's at USC than there are at UCLA. In fact, USC has something like 60% of its students on financial aid. Just stick to the sports reporting ;)

[Defender90]

Good point, louG! I, too, received financial aid in order to attend USC, and they really stepped up in order to entice me to accept the offer of admission. That "rich kids school" moniker should have been put to bed by now.