Published: May 12, 2008 11:21 pm            

State has scandal brewing with Mayo

MORGANTOWN — Just what we need in West Virginia, another scandal.

Rich Rodriguez, Calvin Magee, Heather Bresch aren’t enough to keep us busy.

Now we have O.J. Mayo on our hands.

It seems that a one-time reporter Louis Johnson has told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that Rodney Guillory, a Los Angeles-based event promoter, gave Mayo about $30,000 and other benefits while he attended high school and during his only season at USC.

The money and benefits allegedly came from the Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management (BDA) group in Northern California. Guillory and Johnson were what’s known as “runners” for the agency, men who make contact with promising athletes with the intent of luring them into an agency contract.%

Now while the world is focusing more on whether or not Mayo was violating NCAA rules while at USC before signing with BDA — and isn’t it interesting what you can do with that acronym just by switching the D and the A.

That, however, is not what we want to focus on here.

If Mayo was slimed by an agent, it is hardly surprising, even though he seems to be an intelligent, level-headed kid who didn’t have to violate any rules while riding the NBA Express.

But when you see a kid who becomes a star in junior high, who is a hired high school gun, playing in Cincinnati and then in Huntington, who is caught up in the web of deceit that is AAU basketball, there are so many red flags that go up that you think you are in a May Day Parade in Russia.%

If, indeed, Guillory was providing the hanky to go with whatever panky Mayo would accept, then it’s time the state moved in hard, investigating just how all those Division I players wound up at Huntington and if there were any rules broken at the time.

The tools are there to move forward.

When Gov. Joe Manchin was Secretary of State the Uniform Athlete Agent Act was passed an enacted as Chapter 30, Article 39 of the West Virginia Code.

Section 30-39-14 (2) states that “an athlete’s agent, with the intent to induce a student-athlete to enter into an agency contract, may not:

“Furnish anything of value to a student-athlete before the student-athlete enters into the agency contract.”

If the agent violates this rule he is “guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars or confined in a state correctional facility for not less than one nor more than three years, or both fined and confined.”

While this story just broke and Gov. Manchin currently has a rather full plate with the primary election going on and a few other matters, make no doubt that he will be watching this closely. He has previously shown no compassion for sports agents.

After meeting with The Charleston Daily Mail’s Editorial Board about the Rich Rodriguez saga, the paper wrote:

“Manchin blames Brown, the agent, for the less-than-savvy way Rodriguez departed from WVU. Manchin called Brown ‘unscrupulous.’

“Manchin said he believes agents' influence on college coaches is a major problem. He likened agents to “used car salesmen” who take control of coaches' lives and finances while hunting around for a better deal with a bigger school.”

When contacted, Manchin’s press secretary Lara Ramsburg would not commit to any action on the Governor’s part, telling the Times West Virginian “It’s premature right now. We will watch and see where this goes and if we want to get involved.”

A spokesperson for Secretary of State Betty Ireland also said the secretary wasn’t ready to commit to anything. “We will look into it and turn it over to our investigative team and let them look into it.”

The ESPN show “Outside the Lines” painted a very convincing picture through Johnson, who has fallen on hard times and is not in Mayo’s inner circle any longer. Johnson had receipts and other records showing Guillory bought Mayo clothes, a flat screen TV, meals and an airline ticket for a friend, all of which would be potential NCAA violations.

While there was no documentation presented of money or gifts while at Huntington High, Johnson charged that it went on during Mayo’s two years at North College Hill in Cincinnati and while leading Huntington to the state championship.

“He needed to maintain his relationship with the kid,” Johnson said of Guillory. “It was too big of a risk for him not to be close to O.J. when things really particularly heat up. (Mayo) is a senior, he was a McDonald's All-American, he is a superstar. ... If anything, that was the time to get close and try to strengthen the relationship.”

Rest assured, this one isn’t just going be swept under the carpet. An investigation will surely prove Mayo’s involvement or his innocence. Hopefully it will become the ignition for a war on NCAA rule breaking by agents.

Email Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com

        

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