Recently ESPN has been flooding the market with the news that OJ Mayo has been taking money from a sports agency since high school. My question (of many) is, is that news? Does anyone think this can't happen? Didn't Michigan forfeit a ridiculous amount of games and records due to the whole Chris Webber fiasco? When will we learn that maybe in some cases college athletes do get benefits that mere regular students don't. And that maybe no one really cares.
Secondly this dude (Louis Johnson), who is blowing the whistle is completely off track. Why are we crucifying Mayo and the agents and letting this guy get a pass. When he was in Mayo's circle of trust he didn't seem to mind riding the gravy train but as soon as the well runs dry it becomes time to sound the alarm? Horse shit. Johnson is an angry ex-girlfriend mad that he got dumped two weeks before the prom. Get over it, OJ Mayo is moving on to make millions and your going back to whatever you were doing before taking care of a future NBA superstar.
What's that? You were selling crack and unemployed before this? Hmmm, sounds reliable.
Oh and you told this to ESPN?
Johnson told ESPN he did not get paid, but hoped to profit once Mayo made it to the NBA.
Smooth, your intentions really must have been to help OJ become the best student-athlete he could be. Not to hang on and use his success to bolster your bank account so you can live happily ever after.
With all that being said, it isn't really even the heart of the matter. Did OJ Mayo get some cash on the side? Allegedly. Was he the first? Certainly not. Will he be the last? You can bet your ass he won't be. Do athletes tend to surround themselves with poor decision makers and hangers on? Frequently (see Jones, Pacman).
The point here is everyone is at fault, not just Mayo and Guillory. Boosters want to see their alma mater's succeed, fans treat these kids as rock stars from the moment they step on campus. If you want to take the money out of college sports let them leave for the NBA straight out of high school (I'm looking at you Stern!), with anything other than that you can expect for more of these stories for years to come.
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