Thought For The Day

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Another thought worth repeating: What penalties would USC face today if Reggie Bush settled his financial disputes immediately? Very few, I believe.

15 thoughts on “Thought For The Day”

  1. Considering that Lake was the primary source for the NCAA’s findings, I agree with your take, Scott.

    Bush (and his parents) screwed USC twice, the first by succumbing to greed while a student-athlete, the second, by unbelievably not settling with Lake at the same time he reached a deal with Michaels. That ingenious strategy allowed the scrutiny and negative publicity to fester for over 4 years, which forced the NCAA to lower the boom with disproportionate penalties to avoid looking impotent and more forgiving of violations occurring at powerhouse programs.

    Bush has the rings, fame, endorsements, and money. The only punishment that’ll hurt is stripping him of the coveted Heisman.

  2. Scott, I think you assume that Lake and company were both honorable and not bumbling morons. The infractions committee would have used existence of the settlement as an excuse to pry into what was settled and probably found enough evidence lying around, including from the initial Yahoo! Sports report to conclude serious wrongdoing by Bush’s family.

    I actually think they would have come down harder had Bush settled, as they would have been able to send a message that buying your way out of a problem after-the-fact is absolutely unacceptable.

  3. Anyway you slice it, Bush took down the University. Take down his jersey, remove his Heisman, and sue him for the money lost.

  4. Yes, because sweeping the truth under the rug worked so well for u$c in the past.

  5. Bush not settling kept it in the headlines but if he settles it’s indirectly admitting guilt. Pick your poison on that one.

    Pete Carroll should have included something about pyramids of success in his book, I hear that erases all sins.

  6. Why the obsession with whether this could have been covered up? Y’all sound like Nixon. I foresee further sanctions in the not too distant future.

  7. 1. For all the ucla fans on the blog, you are all hypocrites, Wooden was the worst violator of all time, but was lucky that back in the 70s the NCAA did not investigate as thoroughly as it does now, otherwise the squirrley bruins would have been sanctioned for decades, not years.

    2. If Bush had settled with Lake quickly, the Agreement would have been confidential, and thus not subject to public view. And the NCAA might have backed off 4-years ago when Bush could have saved SC (and himself) a lot of grief.

    3. If they will not take down OJ’s number (who was obviously a murderer), then Bush’s will not be taken down (who was a liar and then a perjurer). But much as OJ’s wonderful reputation was ruined at SC, Bush’s will be also. And the end, it is not how much money you have, but what kind of person you were.

  8. Sam Gilbert and Lawyer John, it sounds like sour grapes to me. The NCAA did investigate, and found NOTHING. Ever heard Marv Goux, you hypocrites!!

  9. Dallas…….totally agree. Bush is an A-HOLE. His parents are scum suckers. This tarnished his legacy.
    LJ……..Love Tarkanian’s quote….”the NCAA is so mad at UCLA that they put Cal State Northridge on probation”. I disagree with 3. USC only has Heisman numbers up and Bush will have his taken down when he loses his.

  10. Reggie Bush dodged his responsibility to USC like a would-be tackler. Shifty is an apt adjective. He should have settled simultaneously with Lake and Michaels. Although I remember the great plays he made on the field (excluding the all-time boneheaded lateral), he has forever tarnished his legacy.

    Reggie, how does it feel to be persona non grata at your alma mater?

  12. LJ:

    It’s always been my impression that at SC, the kind of person you are depends on the money you have. Has anything changed?

  13. Stu,

    Are you saying the people with money are evil or the majority of us Trojans, who could only go to USC thanks to a ton of scholarships and financial aid?

  14. If he settled with Lake early, not only would the details of that settlement be confidential, the NCAA would not have testimony of its “star” witness and would have absolutely nothing linking anyone at USC to knowledge of the benefits. However, evidence seems to be just a minor inconvenience to the NCAA so maybe it wouldn’t really matter.

    In any case, I would guess that at the very least the investigation would have concluded long ago, possibly even before the Mayo stuff happened so who knows if the merging of the cases and the institutional control issue comes into play.

    Whatever sanctions they levied would probably be long over by now. Those sanctions would have likely included vacated wins and the NCAA would probably want to go after a BCS title. The evidence now for the 04-05 BCS title is a stretch at best, even with their screwing around with dates that Lake did things. But I’m sure the NCAA would come up with something to warrant taking the crystal ball away. And while the vacated wins now seem minor (in comparison to the bowl ban and the 30 scholarships), if the sanctions came down in say 2007, those wins might have held a more important place in the hearts of Trojans, and there probably would have been outrage and appeals then.

  15. UCLA Rob, whether the NCAA found nothing re Wooden and Gilbert is irrelevant. Just about everyone involved admits to the shenanigans. It’s not sour grapes, it’s just bringing perspective to the discussion for those who think USC is a cheater and their precious school is not.

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