All I can say, is it seems you are unfamiliar with what happened. USC did not pay Reggie Bush. His parents made a deal with a wannabe agent, who arranged financing for their home. Reggie's parents, in return, promised to deliver Reggie for representation and the agent AND his parents wanted him to leave EARLY. The assistant coach who was supposedly the one who was giving these agents access was Todd McNair. McNair's reputation as it was, was damaged, his income impacted, and he has filed a lawsuit and so far it is going his way. In the midst of that the LA Times and the NY Times have filed to have the records from that lawsuit unsealed because they contain emails between members of the COI that are malicious and targeting of both McNair and USC. The NCAA has been fighting tooth and nail to keep those records sealed (I wonder why, lol) and have just about exhausted their last option. Their lawyer admitted during the last hearing that if/when the records are made public, they will be ripe for a civil lawsuit.
Reggie and his folks got plenty of money and benefits, but it wasn't from USC instead from this shady dude named Lloyd who wanted to be Reggie's agent once he hit the league and got paid. He also expected Reggie to reimburse him. Reggie didn't do it, though, which is why he is persona non-grata around USC and not welcome there last I checked. Bush, had he paid his "debt/loan/advance" to the wannabe agent would not have put USC in harm's way with the NCAA. It'd have been swept under the rug. Bush's refusal to pay got Lloyd to talking and spilling what went on. USC was at fault for not monitoring Reggie's income and such.
I applaud your effort for trying to enlighten these country phucks but believe ME, they don't want all those facts man. LSU court has spoken.
Have extra benefits ever come directly from the college? What world do yall live in? And even if USC wasn't directly involved, definitely not diligent (looking the other way) in keeping track of one of college football's most high profile players. It seemed like there was history and other stuff happening as well. But... I am in agreement that if AU can do it without punishment, USC was treated unfairly. Glad we're self reporting minor infractions and hope we're not hiding bigger ones.
Be careful what you wish for. It goes on everywhere. Over the years I have known quite a few LSU athletes who had more money, car and living arrangements than their parents could have paid for
Fair point. The statement was more slamming NCAA than a statement of historical fact. my personal feeling was that state, local, and federal blunders led to the catastrophe. It was a team effort.
