USC removes O.J. Mayo from record books

AllBall · Post #1 » by **AllBall** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:19 pm

This USC thing got ugly.

Scandal-hit school tries to wipe slate clean
Published July 21, 2010

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The University of Southern California (USC) will return its copy of the Heisman Trophy awarded to the New Orleans Saints' Reggie Bush for his part in an amateur player payments scandal that has left the school reeling.

USC was slapped with severe penalties by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) last month after reports that running back Bush had accepted money and other benefits from marketing agents while playing for the school.

The scandal also enveloped basketballer O.J. Mayo, who played a single season with USC and now plays for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.

In a letter addressed to 'members of the USC Trojan family' on Tuesday, the school's president-elect Max Nikias said "athletic jerseys and murals displayed in recognition of O.J. Mayo and Reggie Bush" would be removed from campus venues.

"The university will also return Mr. Bush's 2005 Heisman Trophy to the Heisman Trophy Trust in August."

The Heisman Trophy is college football's highest individual honor.

USC, whose teams are nicknamed the Trojans, were banned from participating in NCAA football's lucrative post-season for two years, and were stripped of their 2004 national championship among 12 wins from the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

Officials estimate the punishment will cost the university millions of dollars.

College sports in the United States and the huge sums generated from broadcast rights and gate receipts have traditionally tested the ideals of amateur competition.

A number of schools have fallen foul of the rule over the decades....

Read More

More info here

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/ ... he-heisman

MiamiHeat04 · Post #2 » by **MiamiHeat04** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:28 pm

I dont really pay much attention to NCAA or its rules but why is it so wrong to take money. Doesnt the NCAA makes tons of money from its college atheletes why shouldnt they(the athletes) get a portion as well?

fallacy · Post #3 » by **fallacy** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:29 pm

INB4 lilojmayo comes and says it's not oj's fault

nyqua11 · Post #4 » by **nyqua11** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:31 pm

MiamiHeat04 wrote:I dont really pay much attention to NCAA or its rules but why is it so wrong to take money. Doesnt the NCAA makes tons of money from its college atheletes why shouldnt they(the athletes) get a portion as well?

They're considered amateurs and aren't allowed to cash in on their ability before leaving college.

BarneyGumble · Post #5 » by **BarneyGumble** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:38 pm

MiamiHeat04 wrote:I dont really pay much attention to NCAA or its rules but why is it so wrong to take money. Doesnt the NCAA makes tons of money from its college atheletes why shouldnt they(the athletes) get a portion as well?

Dont understand your question really. These are institutions of education, not professional sports franchises. These athletes are given a living stipend and that is all they should receive until they go pro and cash in. The focus really should be education here....you never know when a blown out knee or some other unforseen problem will ruin your chances at a pro career. If the athletes neglected their education, what do they have to fall back on?

Malinhion · Post #6 » by **Malinhion** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:44 pm

He would have never gone to college in the first place if David Stern wasn't colluding with the NCAA to make college ball a talent development and analysis platform.

Let's not overlook the role of the age limit in the cases of guys like Mayo and Rose, who probably already got a bunch of handouts from AAU and were too firmly entrenched in the culture to really escape this sort of behavior. You may be able to say the same thing for Wall and Cousins, soon. Calipari isn't a clean character.

tidho · Post #7 » by **tidho** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:47 pm

MiamiHeat04 wrote:I dont really pay much attention to NCAA or its rules but why is it so wrong to take money. Doesnt the NCAA makes tons of money from its college atheletes why shouldnt they(the athletes) get a portion as well?

They do.
They're given free room & board, a free college education, and access to really hot girls.

Moreyball · Post #8 » by **Moreyball** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:54 pm

MiamiHeat04 wrote:I dont really pay much attention to NCAA or its rules but why is it so wrong to take money. Doesnt the NCAA makes tons of money from its college atheletes why shouldnt they(the athletes) get a portion as well?

there getting a free education that is worth about 200,000.

Vince Strong · Post #9 » by **Vince Strong** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:58 pm

MiamiHeat04 wrote:I dont really pay much attention to NCAA or its rules but why is it so wrong to take money. Doesnt the NCAA makes tons of money from its college atheletes why shouldnt they(the athletes) get a portion as well?

are you serious?

free college education, shelter, food.

give me a break.

GrizzledGrizzFan · Post #10 » by **GrizzledGrizzFan** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:11 pm

tidho wrote:
MiamiHeat04 wrote:I dont really pay much attention to NCAA or its rules but why is it so wrong to take money. Doesnt the NCAA makes tons of money from its college atheletes why shouldnt they(the athletes) get a portion as well?

They do.
They're given free room & board, a free college education, and access to really hot girls.

College Dorm < NBA Crib
Free College Education =/= for most 1 and done'ers
And you don't think they have access to really hot girls in the NBA?!?

While I understand the concept behind the one year rule and why it's advantageous to both the NCAA and the NBA, I still don't like it.

LApwnd · Post #11 » by **LApwnd** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:16 pm

you knew OJ was dirty, he was sitting court-side at a Laker game when he was at USC, yea the story was Carmelo gave him tkts but come on?

ThreeYearPlan · Post #12 » by **ThreeYearPlan** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:18 pm

Tim Floyd should've just given someone connected to Mayo a job at the school like a regular coach

rumdiary · Post #13 » by **rumdiary** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:23 pm

Malinhion wrote:He would have never gone to college in the first place if David Stern wasn't colluding with the NCAA to make college ball a talent development and analysis platform.

QFT

rumdiary · Post #14 » by **rumdiary** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:26 pm

LApwnd wrote:you knew OJ was dirty, he was sitting court-side at a Laker game when he was at USC, yea the story was Carmelo gave him tkts but come on?

Dirty by who's rules? By what authority does the NCAA decide OJ Mayo's income?

ANARCHY!!!

Malinhion · Post #15 » by **Malinhion** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:28 pm

LApwnd wrote:you knew OJ was dirty, he was sitting court-side at a Laker game when he was at USC, yea the story was Carmelo gave him tkts but come on?

That only raised suspicion. He was getting cash handouts. That was the issue.

LApwnd · Post #16 » by **LApwnd** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:31 pm

rumdiary wrote:
LApwnd wrote:you knew OJ was dirty, he was sitting court-side at a Laker game when he was at USC, yea the story was Carmelo gave him tkts but come on?

Dirty by who's rules? By what authority does the NCAA decide OJ Mayo's income?

ANARCHY!!!

yes because a college fresh man with no job and came from a modest family can afford thousand dollar seats :-?

to Mah, yes I know that only raised suspicion, that was my point.

raleigh · Post #17 » by **raleigh** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:57 pm

Here's the real question: Is there anyone in these scenarios that is NOT blameworthy?

The only real solution is to stop supporting collegiate sports. The whole thing is a farce.

madmaxmedia · Post #18 » by **madmaxmedia** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 5:02 pm

mrhonline wrote:Here's the real question: Is there anyone in these scenarios that is NOT blameworthy?

The only real solution is to stop supporting collegiate sports. The whole thing is a farce.

+1. The punishment fits the rules, obviously. But the whole system is messed up. There are way too many conflicting interests between money and education (this goes for everyone- the student-athletes, the colleges, and the NCAA) that in a perfect world where no one was dirty and everyone had the best of intentions, things in college sports would still probably be screwed up.

Curmudgeon · Post #19 » by **Curmudgeon** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 5:03 pm

College sports isn't a farce. It's more serious than that. It's a slave system. The schools make millions, the coaches make millions, the athletes get nothing except free tuition to take gut courses so they can stay eligible.

Sedale Threatt · Post #20 » by **Sedale Threatt** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 5:11 pm

mrhonline wrote:Here's the real question: Is there anyone in these scenarios that is NOT blameworthy?

The only real solution is to stop supporting collegiate sports. The whole thing is a farce.

It really is. Youth basketball in America is pretty well f'd up. AAU has overtaken high school ball, and it's filled with sneaker pimps, hustlers and leeches. Then you get to college, where there is at least an attempt to educate, develop and maintain structure, but the schools are still exploiting the players.

Yeah, they get the scholarship and the free room and board and all of that. But that's a pittance compared to what the colleges rake in. Dole out 80 or 90 scholarships on football, then another 15 on basketball, pull in tens of millions of dollars. That's not a bad ROI.