This is a game of chicken. Down on one end of the street is USC, revving its engine. On the other end is the NCAA, doing the same. And they are about to start barreling toward each other. Which one will chicken out?I'm going with the NCAA on that one. It has been three years now since we knew that USC had become the classic college sports cheat. USC athletic director Mike Garrett figures Trojan football is too big and strong to be touchable. Heisman winners getting hundreds of thousands of dollars from shady characters hanging around. Basketball coaches getting into the mud, and maybe a slush fund, to recruit. That's just a start.
The NCAA has had the goods on USC for years now. And still ... nothing.
No punishment.
The NCAA could make an example of USC. Serious probation. No TV. No bowl games. Major recruiting limits. Whatever happened to the death penalty, anyway?
Or, the NCAA could do almost nothing, unwilling to hurt its golden goose. Just keep doing what you're doing, USC, and we'll take away a trophy or two and a handful of victories later.
That's what I think is happening. USC is about to start another season under Pete Carroll, the highest paid coach in college football. The coaches preseason good-ol-boy poll ranked USC No. 4. In the end, the Trojans will get to their eighth straight BCS bowl game. The dollars will flow. Everyone will get rich. And the crickets will keep chirping around the NCAAs investigation.
This is it, maybe the ultimate test of the NCAA, which calls its football players student-athletes. Now we'll see whether it is serious about being an organization of virtue or only of power and money.
It's your turn, NCAA, to prove doubters wrong. Why do I doubt?
Well, take this example from this week. The NCAA announced Thursday that it would no longer hold any NCAA championships in states that allow fans to bet on single games. Sounds good, right? Virtue? They want to keep gambling away from their games and their young players.
At the same time, the latest trend in the NCAA is for schools to sell ad space in their stadiums to casinos. When I asked the NCAA about this, a spokesperson responded via email with this:
"The NCAA does not interfere in the financial relationships/agreements of its institutions, as long as they do not violate NCAA legislation."
With the NCAA, the high ground disappears when money is involved.
"I think they're doing a great job," said Brian Watkins, attorney for Lloyd Lake.
Lake is the one who alleges that he gave Heisman winner Reggie Bush and his family nearly $300,000 in benefits when Bush played for USC. He has sued Bush in an attempt to recoup the money.
Watkins said that delays in the suit should be over in the next 60 to 90 days, and then he'll be able to start taking depositions from Carroll, from Bush and from Michael Michaels, another character involved who is said to have contributed $100,000 in cash to Bush and his family.
"The NCAA understands the appeal process is ending relatively soon," Watkins said. "And they don't have subpoena power. You can't just do something so severe as to give a school the death penalty or put on probation, without significant indisputable evidence."
The NCAA doesn't have to hold itself to the same standard of proof as our court system, though. And it has already reportedly talked to dozens of people. On top of that, Yahoo!, which broke the Bush story and has landed all sorts of details, has already done plenty of the dirty work for the NCAA.
"No, they don't need things beyond a reasonable doubt," Watkins said.
"And they do know the details.
"But Reggie Bush refused to cooperate. They haven't spoken to Reggie and they haven't spoken to Michael Michaels. They would need Michael Michaels' testimony for the slam dunk smoking gun they want."
Watkins said, for example, that Michaels claims to have put Bush up for a week in a suite in the Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino in Vegas against NCAA rules. The NCAA, Watkins said, has the receipt. Now, it needs Michaels and Bush to explain.
Well, let's hope that Watkins is right about the NCAA, that it's just trying to build an airtight case.
But it's hard to believe they still need this testimony to come to definitive conclusions about the cesspool of USC athletics. Meanwhile, USC keeps doing things, keeps making money.
It came out last week that Carroll might have violated another NCAA rule by bringing in former pro coaches to help out. He said his compliance office approved.
It appears that Carroll can do whatever he wants at USC. The compliance office is not flying high on its reputation now. And Garrett's office is used most of all for collecting trophies.
And dust.
What has USC done? It fired basketball coach Tim Floyd, after the fallout over the recruiting and alleged payment of basketball star O.J. Mayo.But Floyd was a sacrificial lamb, to help protect football, USC's big money-maker.
Meanwhile, if everyone knows the details, then why hasn't USC stopped itself? Changed its culture?
Punished Carroll? Punished the football program?
The NCAA loves a good pre-empting self-punishment.
What Garrett has done is play a world-class game of chicken. That, and produce an embarrassing video on YouTube explaining, as if talking to kindergartners: "Believe me no one wants to get to the bottom of this matter more than I do ... But there is a process. And that process is dictated by the NCAA rules and making sure that the investigation is conducted in a manner that would ensure that we get, indeed, to the truth.''
Indeed, we already have it. The question is what the NCAA will do with it. Garrett has handled things the way a former football star now wearing a suit would be expected, by daring NCAA officials to take action against a money-making powerhouse.
If they have the nerve.
E-mail me at gregcouch09@aol.com
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
I am sure the writer of this article is very intelligent, BUT, I don't think NCAA backs away from anyone or any institution. USC is no better or worse than any other program out there. And, I am sure you will notice USC has a very clean off field reputation among its players unlike many other universities that come to mind.
All of the big time college universities are pushing the line on recruiting players, but USC is the most crooked university out there right now. They need to be punished and maybe make an example of them to the rest of the NCAA.
Husker fan from Nebraska
USC players a clean off-field rep? You must be delirious. Numerous physical and sexual assault charges, 130+ ecstacy pills in one player's room, Mauluga caves in a guy's face and claims to "own the police," and the list goes on.
But really, is it USC fans being myopic or is it everyone else from coast to coast? It's everyone else, right? Of course. Whew! That's a relief.
wow. this guy mentions Reggie Bush and one alleged violation by Pete Carroll, but calls USC a "cesspool". so one violation and one supposed violation results in USC running wild and more powerful than the NCAA and god? where is he getting his reasoning?
USC didn't give money to Bush and his family. And he even says it's an alleged violation by Carroll, but he's already judged it.
Seems like he hates USC and this has clouded any fair reporting he may have had once in his life.
Can you blame him....Pete Carrol is a hot dog and who like the mess in a hot dog. I say let the score be against them as they have cheated and now should pay the price. I know Ohio State did, so if the best of schools have to do the time, so should those "horse's asses".
Sounds to me like someone has a grudge.
FIGHT ON!
talk about a guy who is on a crusade.....HE decides the Trojans are guilty.....interesting.....
university of southern cheaters ( usc )
The NCAA and USC are as corrupt as the US congress, so one cant expect a crook to catch a crook.
Wow, I think Greg Couch was denied admission by USC or something, because that was as one sided a story as I can remember reading. I think there is an underlying bitterness at work in this article.
the ncaa is a bunch of cheaters and so they know how to look after there own. evryone is cheaters and thats not even the half of it. LOOK AT HOW BIG THE PLAYERS ARE!!!!! you cant tell me that people run 4.4s without help, period. but now that is common place and you and i know why STEROIDS!!!!!!!!!!! the ncaa prescribes em the players take em and the people will sit in the seats and just ignore the evidence.
everyone is cheaters nowadays, just some more than others i guess
This guy never really tells us what the infraction is. What exactly did USC do?
Reggie Bush took some money, so USC is a cesspool and deserves the death penalty.
I'm sorry Greg, but even the NCAA needs more evidence than that.
You've obviously got a big ax to grind. Why? This isn't the reaction of an outraged journalist. I think you should tell us more about yourself. A Notre Dame fan perhaps?
OK Greg, where are you from? Florida, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma? Can't be from Penn State or Notre Dame as they both have way too much class to launch into such an unsupportable tirade. Assume Bush is guilty as sin, do you honestly believe he did it in front of Pete Carroll or Mike Garrett? Of course not! He would do what anyone who commits such a violation or crime would do, hide it from detection. His family would be sufficiently distant from university control. Perhaps the IRS could find it, but not some compliance official at the USC Athletic Department. The problem with the hypocrites at the NCAA is they over do it, reaching beyond common sence and fairness. Listen to Joe Pa! Fair is fair. By the way, Bush was nothing more than any other young jock trying to make a buck, not a rocket scientist, just an athlete hoping to capitalize on god's gifts. Perhaps bad character, but not a reflection of a fine university!
Like USC is the only one the NCAA runs from...Lok at Ohio $tate! They chicken shitted their way through the Clarrett crap. What a bunch of idiots the NCAA is.
Here's the few things that are painfully obvious;
1. The media here in L.A. would love to be able to put out a story that the USC football program is crooked. That would mean instant stardom and a Pulitizer Prize. If they could have dug up the dirt on this investigation by now, they would have.
2. Even if Bush and family accepted gifts and money from agents, you have to be able to show that Coach Carroll and the University knew about it or should have known about it. Bush may have violated rules, but his family lived 120 miles away from campus. How is Pete Carroll supposed to know that Bush's family is living way beyond their means? Is the University supposed to hire private investigators to do yearly checks on an athletes family?
3. The NCAA can't penalize Bush; except maybe by demanding their Heisman Trophy back but I'm pretty sure it's in Heritage Hall and that demand isn't coming anytime soon.
Wake up all you Pollyannas! Many if not most of the major prgrams around the country are not virginal in this matter. Why do you think all of those all-star Texas High School players went to Norman to play for Oklahoma since the Bud Wilkinson era? If you believe they preferred the atmosphere in Norman over that of Austin, Dallas, or any of the other Texas cities that have major college football programs, then I have some ocean-front property in LubbocK to sell you on the cheap.
The NCAA is not going to give any major, powerhouse program the death penalty. They imposed it on SMU when they had the best football team that money could buy. That basically destroyed the football program there. I contend that in any given year, you can find that programs from USC to Oklahoma to Texas to Ohio State to Michigan to Tennesee to Florida have committed the same sins that caused SMU to go from the Pony-Express to SM-Who.
The NCAA either needs to become the 800 pound gorilla in the room by dealing the death penalty and/or major sanctions on some of the major programs or they need to shut the hell up and sit down. There are only these two options.
WRTER GREG COUCH MADE TWO MISTAKES. NUMBER 1, WRITE AN ATICAL WHICH HE KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT. NUMBER 2, WRITING SOMETHING WITHOUT FACTS. THIS IN REAL WORLD IS CALLED LIBAL.
CAN YOU LOOK THAT WORD UP GREG.
YOUR A FOUNTAIN OF MISINFORMATION.
START A NEW JOB SOON.
Greg couch is a Goddamn pussy. USC is only being singled out because of it's success over the last decade. I mean, how in the hell did the Reggie Bush situation make USC a better team. He was going to play for USC no matter what. The best players are going where they want regardless of how much is put on the table. This clown is just jealous of the trojans and needs to STFU. If he can prove a player came to USC for a payday then he needs to put up or shut up.
If you can't beat them on the field, at least you can write fiction about it.
Interesting to listen to the comments of the fans:
1. well everyone does it! oh OK that makes it alright then.. lets all go commit felonies and then it is OK because we all do it!
2. Prove it.... Another great response except that it was proved and Bush settled out of court by paying hush money to the "agent" that will land the "agent" in jail if he talks... that is why nothing has leaked.. but the fact is the documents are available to the NCAA for their own purposes which are not associated with civil or criminal court.
To you Mr libal.. Greg would love to go to court because he can then demand access to the records of the "agent" and then all can see... don't see anyone suing him anytime soon... you'd think they would, but you know those darned inconvenient facts like: "hey he is right" always gets in the way of a lawsuit by blow hards like yourself.
3. Fan response: "He could have gone anywhere...." yep.... and the hush money makes it appear he went to the highest bidder with an acceptable program.
4. FACTS: USC is THE moneymaker for the NCAA west of the Mississippi river... nobody on the east coast cares about Oregon or ASU or Fresno ST... it is all about USC and some UCLA. The NCAA is slow rolling this to where Reggie Bush is out of the League and Pete Caroll is long gone. This thing is going on four years old as it is.. USC is guilty... we all know it... USC basketball is guilty... we all know it... I personally wouldn't call it a cesspool, but it could use some attention. Greg's point is do we care enough about Student athletics to call a major program and say no more... you cheated.. you cannot particpate at the championship level for a while.. you know, have ethics.... see we all get outraged at the PONZI scheme as unethical... but from the posts here, ethics is not something we take too seriously with our home town team... shame on us, shame on USC, Carroll, and the NCAA... if you can't do the right thing over a football game, you have no chance in life.