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Apologetic Mayo drives a Porsche

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O.J. Mayo apologized for the criticism directed at USC and Trojans Athletic Director Mike Garrett because of the allegations and said he was upset he had been portrayed in a light similar to that of former USC football star Reggie Bush, who has been accused of taking illegal extra benefits from a failed sports marketer."If you rode to my mother's house, it's still a two-bedroom house, one floor," Mayo said. "She still drives the same Toyota Corolla that she drove for the last three years and is still trying to meet ends. So for them to say I received $30,000 or whatever the case is, I definitely don't think that's enough to sell out myself and my family." Following the interview, Mayo slipped into a new red Porsche Cayenne GTS with two friends and drove off, saying he was headed to Chicago for workouts in advance of next month's NBA draft.

Los Angeles Times

O.J. Mayo, Jamie Squire/Getty Images O.J. Mayo, Jamie Squire/Getty Images
May 15, 2008  08:01 AM ET

Is argument dosnt hold much water.....as a matter of fact his "denial" leaks streams.

May 15, 2008  08:04 AM ET

jackmanrob, to say I'm disturbed by that avatar would be quite the understatement... I just dumped my coffee down the sink

May 15, 2008  08:06 AM ET

What do you expect from a kid who is being pulled by so many vultures? What a stupid - yet about to be a millionaire - kid Mayo is. Hopefully someone out there takes him under his/her wing and guides him on the right path.

May 15, 2008  08:59 AM ET

I think OJ's telling the Truth! No Trojan athlete would ever do anything like that!

Sincerely,

Reggie Bush

May 15, 2008  09:16 AM ET

Okay.... sure lottery picks can drive whatever they want to. He will be a rich man in a couple weeks. He should have NEVER had to go to college anyway. This guy was NBA ready coming out of HS.

USC benefited nicely by him being there so.......

May 15, 2008  09:17 AM ET

OJ MAYO is full of it. He has his priorities, a corrolla for his mom and porshe for himself. Typical behavior in todays world. These kids need to realize that the NBA is lazy and its more fun to play in college.

May 15, 2008  09:34 AM ET

Is he stupid? Why? Because people offered him money and he took it? He's going to be very rich, and will pay no penalty for what happened in college.

USC, its' boosters, the agents, etc. should pay the price for this mess. This is what happens when you force a kid to go to college on the way to the NBA...he's just looking for his payday, and if it happens to start when he's still in school that's OK with him.

Punish the offenders, then fix that idiotic mandatory year rule.

May 15, 2008  09:48 AM ET

Yankee,

he is stupid because he put the school that gave him the opportunity to play and expose himself to the world at risk. He also showed he has not ethical or moral guidelines which doesn't surprise me as many in sports don't have either.

All we can hope is that this comes back to hurt USC big time and that karma is present when OJ MAYO blows out a knee while a member of the Clippers never to be able to play again. That way he can spend more time driving his Porsche while contemplating what his life would have been like if he hadn't been such a do uche bag.

May 15, 2008  09:59 AM ET

I'm glad he said what he said, otherwise if he was straight-forward and said, " Yeah I got a new red Cayenne Porsche GTS thanks to the $30,000 I received from USC," I might have had a **** heartattack. These days, I can't handle sports people being truthful, when it happens it just doesn't seem right.

So when I read this crap my mind paraphrases everything. What I got out of this is "My mother still lives in a 2-bedroom house and drives a 3-year-old Toyota corolla, and I spent all the money on myself. NOW THAT I CAN BELIEVE.

May 15, 2008  10:04 AM ET

Warden,

USC gave OJ an opportunity to play??? He could have played at any DI school he want to. USC benefited more from him than he did from USC.

This kid never had any desire to play college ball. He will make more money in 1 year than most people will many in a life time. As bad as I had to say it, these days it is all about the money. We all we to college to earn a nice living.

What if Bill Gates walked in Harvard and said to a Freshman: I saw that code you wrote to operate your robot. Now I would like to offer you six figures to come work at MS.

Would you tell your kid to stay in school?

May 15, 2008  10:06 AM ET

The problem in trying to hurt USC is that a majority of these offenses took place before he accepted that scholarship. The NCAA had already cleared him to play at the collegiate level based on most of that information. Granted, there is some new information, but you would have to demonstrate that USC either willingly turned a blind eye or was complicit in the transactions. So far, there isn't conclusive evidence of either.

While you may want to witch hunt a particular school, these agents are pretty darn smart themselves. They have many ways to hide money and transactions. You would need FBI/CIA type resources to track those type of movements. The best you could hope is that you minimize the damage to amateurism.

Another good example is the one Matt Leinart and Dwayne Jarrett ended up in. Matt's parents are loaded and got him a pad in downtown LA. Matt tries to help a fellow teammate out and lets Dwayne stay with him. Yet, the NCAA cuts it down. Isn't that the whole point of being a team in the first place? To help each other when they are down?

May 15, 2008  10:09 AM ET

If he said what he said and then hopped on a beach cruiser would it have made any difference? No, not at all. Alot of people are jealous of O.J. and their minds are already made-up about this ongoing investigation. Like I posted yesterday, if he was able to go straight to the NBA, would this be an issue? Of course not, but the NBA and the NCAA are in cahoots together to make as much money as they can. Money talks & BS walks!

May 15, 2008  10:14 AM ET

SoFloBoy,

USC didn't recruit Mayo. Mayo picked USC for only one reason. That reason was to better market himself in a big media town of Los Angeles. USC could (and should have) said thanks but no thanks, we want players who are going to stick around. But USC being USC, took the chance on him and now they most likely are going to pay dearly for it.

May 15, 2008  10:17 AM ET

While it was probably the case, lets not get all up in arms about the Porsche - since he's about a 98% guaranteed NBA draft pick, lots of dealers will go ahead and let you drive stuff off the showroom floor on credit. Reminds me of Lebron James' Hummer H2 he got for his birthday from his Mom right before his NBA draft.

May 15, 2008  10:18 AM ET

This is a joke and a waste of time. You go to college for two things. The first is to put yourself in a batter position to make a living and second is to have fun. If I could have left school after my Freshman year and make this kind of money I would have. I played college football (Div 1) and players where getting money from everyone. Did I think it was right, no but it is what it is. Grow up people sports are big business and it is what it is. I do like how he drove off in a Porsche. Nice....

May 15, 2008  10:20 AM ET

BrSee is right - and anyway, the NCAA found no violations by USC or the Pac-10. Who do you blame then? The sports agents. If you want to go after someone, go after them. But then again - who's to say that you can't make friends with someone really cool, who happens to be an agent and buys you cool stuff to make your only year in college more fun?

Just saying...

May 15, 2008  10:23 AM ET

I will not blame any athlete that comes from a very modest background for doing what he can to benefit both himself and his family. College sports are an inudustry and the only people involved not benefiting to a large degree are the people on the court/field. Coaches and schools are making millions a year off of these kids. Sponsors make millions more to associate themselves with bowl games and the like. And we are going to cry foul when some kid takes 30k when his mother is living in a 2 bedroom house?

If you want to blame someone blame all of the others making a killing off of what these kids do. Blame the agents that troll the waters like sharks looking to stick their teeth into high school freshmen. Blame the coaches who turn a blind eye while enjoying their million dollar salaries. Blame the entire college sports culture for turning amateur events into giant paydays.

May 15, 2008  10:32 AM ET

C-smith,

What credit does Mayo have? Giving him the Porsche wasn't on credit alone. He had to come up with $$$$ of more likely, his agent/agency co signed for him and put the down payment on the table for him.

Since he's no longer a Athlete/student at Univ of Stupid Cheaters, this is expected of players.

Still can't wait to see the look on Mayo's face when the Clippers draft him!

May 15, 2008  10:35 AM ET

USC (like Ohio St) has a nice coating of teflon all over it, the NCAA isnt going to punish them. Which is sad because they have had high profile recruiting scandals in football and basketball.

I cant blame the kid for taking anything, I blame the school.

 
May 15, 2008  10:36 AM ET

Warden,
Wait, OJ could have played ANYWHERE! Where did Derrick Rose, and Michael Beasley play this year? It wasn't USC. Players don't have to go to LA, NY, or Chicago to be see these days. It's called TV. Most of these guys were well known before they arrived at their various colleges.

If you know you're a one and done player, why not go to LA?

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