The Forum continues

We’re going to answer every question that was posted in the Weekend Forum.

Q: There seems to be a trend of three off the field scandals breaking during a short period of time when it comes to USC.
April-May 2006:
1) News breaks that Reggie Bush took money from would-be agents.
2) Mark Sanchez gets arrested for sexually assaulting a student.
3) Matt Leinart and Dwayne Jarrett live in the expensive Medici apartments while Leinart’s father pays most of Jarrett’s rent.
April-May 2008:
1) Drew Radovich not drafted by the NFL due to off the field character concerns.
2) An embarrassing video regarding walk-ons.
3) OJ Mayo taking money during the time he was at USC.
So is three the magic number? Does this mean there won’t be any more off the field scandals breaking anytime soon that you are aware of?

A: I’ve covered USC long enough to know to never expect the scandals to stop at a certain point. So I’ll hold my breath that you are right.

Q: How can USC justify allowing Guillory on campus (and in Floyd’s office!) after his involvement with Jeff Trepagnier that led to him being ruled ineligible for receiving extra benefits? Did Floyd know about Guillory’s past when he let Guillory have the run of the place? If not, didn’t other “long-timers” at USC (e.g., Mike Garrett, Tim Tessalone, etc.) know of Guillory’s past with Trepagnier? To me, there seems to be no proper justification for allowing Guillory to set foot on campus. Has USC provided one yet? It reminds me of the old adage: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Where is the institutional control?

A: USC wanted O.J. Mayo. The only way to get him was to do business with Guillory. So everyone winked and nodded and looked the other way. It was that simple. Perhaps this is one reason USC was so concerned about creating a certain image for Mayo. For example, when he punched Daniel Hackett and broke his jaw, Floyd denied it despite everyone on campus knowing the true story. Why? Because it would raise questions about Mayo and they did not want anyone looking into anything regarding their star recruit