Whay do u guys think about this?


Report: Marketer claims Bush received $280K in benefits at USC
Associated Press

Updated: October 11, 2007, 8:55 AM ET
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LOS ANGELES -- A sports marketer will give NCAA investigators financial records and other evidence linking Reggie Bush and his family to nearly $280,000 in benefits while he was enrolled at Southern California, according to a report Wednesday.

Lloyd Lake, who allegedly provided improper benefits to Bush in 2005, has agreed to meet with NCAA officials and give them evidence to help their investigation, Yahoo! Sports reported on its Web site, citing two unidentified sources.

Yahoo! Sports also reported it had acquired confidential e-mails from officers of New Era Sports & Entertainment, a marketing agency founded by Lake and Michael Michaels with cooperation from Bush and his stepfather, LaMar Griffin. The e-mails show the agency soliciting marketing and memorabilia deals on the running back's behalf, Yahoo! Sports reported.

Both Yahoo! Sports and The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that Lake is expected to file a civil lawsuit in San Diego against Bush later this month, seeking to recoup money allegedly given to Bush and his family.

Lake's attorney, Brian Watkins, told The Associated Press on Tuesday he couldn't confirm or deny the reports. Watkins declined to comment about the details mentioned in Wednesday's article, only to say, "The story is very accurate."

Lake and Michaels claimed more than a year ago that they provided money to Bush's family as well as a home for which the family had failed to pay more than $50,000 in rent. The conflict was made public after Bush signed with another sports agent.

Bush, the Heisman Trophy winner as a junior in 2005, is in his second year with the New Orleans Saints, having signed a contract reportedly worth up to $60 million. He has said repeatedly that neither he nor his family did anything wrong in dealings with Michaels and Lake.

A phone message left for Bush's attorney, David Cornwell, on Wednesday also wasn't immediately returned.

Michaels reached a settlement with Bush and his family last April. Yahoo! Sports said the settlement was for between $200,000 and $300,000.

If Bush is found to have received improper benefits, USC could be forced to forfeit games. The school could face other sanctions if it's proven that coaches knew or should have known about the alleged benefits.

Also, if Bush is found to have broken NCAA rules during his Heisman-winning season, the award could be revoked.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
[Edited 10/11/07 9:29am]

I think this thread will get moved to P&R

shanti0608 said:

Oh wait...are you serious????

If you are this is sports related....this article is about Reggie Bush, not George.

Sowhat said:

I just thought that most things like this get passed to P&R.

you know I was just thinking the other day about Reggie being "clean"


damn damn damn

I hope this turns out to be a case of someone just wanting more money.

shanti0608 said:

You may be right, I just thought the proper forum for sports was GD.

Sowhat said:

I agree....

At first glance I think the only people that can be hurt by this are currently at USC. Maybe Bush loses a statue, but he has 60 million reasons to feel good about what he has accomplished. The other kids in the program are the ones that will feel the pain.

But then I think, USC really is the one to punish anyway. They like all other big sports schools allow this to go on and some even actively help athletes skirt the rules. Dangle a couple hundred thousand in front of ANY college kid and for most the temptation will be too great. The threat of losing out on college sports is moot because by the time that kind of money is coming out, you're going pro anyway.

The NCAA would be naieve to think Bush or USC is the heart of the matter. They need to look at themselves and the BUSINESS of college sports to see where the problem lies.

The NCAA can have 1 thing, millions in revenue or clean programs, they cannot seem to coexist and retroacitvely going after Reggie Bush will not help anyone.

I'll be fine when Brian Urlacher punishes Reggie later this year.

Mars23 said:

Very well said....it happens in all the major programs, but when it gets discovered, all the university presidents and athletic directors try to look all innocent like they don't know it could happen at their prestigious institution of higher learning.....



NOT FUNNY!!!

Mars23 said:

Thank you...and don't even get me started on March Madness. The NCAA suits(and shills like dick Vitale & Billy Packer) are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites. Their tournaments generate millions and everybody gets paid - networks, broadcasters, coaches(with phat sneaker contracts), university presidents, but not the cats doing the actual work. And they have the nerve to call NCAA football/basketball "amateur athletics" - B.S., they're semi-pros.

uPtoWnNY said:

See.....that is my stance.

Graycap23 said:

Now a free college education is nothing to sneeze at, especially these days. But as Bob Knight said, in many cases, these "kids" are nothing but hired mercenaries with no interest in school whatsoever(and I can't stand Knight).

uPtoWnNY said:

It's not free.....that is he rub. Don't perform or get hurt and see how free it is.