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Rodney Guillory, former advisor to USC star O.J. Mayo, files $25-million lawsuit against NCAA

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Rodney Guillory, a Los Angeles events promoter who allegedly provided improper benefits to former USC star O.J. Mayo while Mayo was still in school, has filed a $25-million lawsuit against the NCAA, seeking damages for defamation and other legal claims, according to his attorney, Edward Lee.

The lawsuit alleges that Guillory, whose relationship with Mayo extended back to when Mayo was in seventh grade, was defamed in the NCAA’s Public Infractions Report which declared Mayo ineligible during his time at USC and imposed penalties on the Trojans’ men’s basketball program.

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The scandal involving Mayo, who has denied that he received any benefits, broke shortly after Mayo declared for the NBA draft in the spring of 2008 after playing one season at USC.

In May of that year, Louis Johnson, a former confidant of Mayo, said that Guillory received more than $200,000 from a Southern California sports agency, and then funneled at least part of that money to Mayo in the form of cash, clothes and a flat-screen television while Mayo played at USC during the 2007-08 season.

There were also allegations that former USC Coach Tim Floyd delivered cash to Guillory outside a Beverly Hills cafe in 2007. Floyd has denied these allegations. He abruptly resigned in June 2009 and is now coaching at Texas El Paso.

In January 2010, USC imposed sanctions on its basketball team, forfeiting victories, money and forgoing postseason play in the 2009-10 season while also adding limitations to off-campus recruiting.

The NCAA concluded a four-year investigation into USC, which also included allegations that former USC football star Reggie Bush received improper benefits while in school, in June of this year. As part of its investigation, the NCAA said that from August 2006 through May 2008, Mayo and people close to him took cash, lodging, transportation, a cellphone, a television, watches, shoes and clothing.

As part of sanctions levied by the NCAA, USC was ordered to disassociate itself with Mayo and Guillory, whom the school referred to as a ‘booster.’

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-- Baxter Holmes

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