College Sports

Southern Cal “one and done” hoopster O.J. Mayo has denied any wrongdoing in the investigation that he received improper benefits before and during his one season with the Trojans.

You may remember yesterday’s column (if you don’t, scroll down to yesterday’s blog). I won’t rehash the blog, but suffice it to say that it appears, on the surface, like Mayo has been getting some serious financial aid… and not from the Pell Grant folks, either.

Louis Johnson, a friend of Rodney Guillory who is at the center of the firestorm, says that Guillory bought Mayo thousands of dollars in clothing and other items, and that the money was funneled through Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management (BDA). Mayo is now represented by Calvin Andrews, BDA vice-president.

Johnson has dated receipts which he produced for ESPN’s “Outside the Lines”, which show that Guillory alledgedly purchased clothing, food and other services for Mayo. Additionally, two saleperson’s have come forward to say that they waited on Guillory and Mayo.

(wait for it… dum dum… The “Law & Order” gavel hits the desk!)

Mayo’s side of the story? He’s not worried about receipts, because they can be faked. The flat screen TV in his room, reportedly a gift from Guillory? He brought it from home in West Virginia. And when he went out with Guillory, he says he paid his own way.

Mayo believes that Johnson is motivated by anger… he had asked Guillory to sever his relationship with Johnson due to Johnson’s prior drug conviction. And Mayo claims that he is distancing himself from Guillory at this point, until he sees what is really going on.

This is one stinkin’ mess, huh? I don’t know if Mayo is guilty of taking extra benefits. I don’t know if Guillory funneled money to him. That’s for the NCAA to decide, and for better sportwriters than I to write about for the next weeks/months/years.

But there are enough red flags to have a parade. And it ain’t going away.