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ESPN: O.J. Received $30K

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Posted: 7:24 PM May 11, 2008
Last Updated: 12:01 AM May 12, 2008
Reporter: Associated Press

38 comments

A | A | A

LOS ANGELES (AP) - O.J. Mayo is being accused of major violations of NCAA rules.

A former associate tells ESPN the Southern Cal basketball star received thousands of dollars in cash and other gifts from an event promoter over the past four years. Louis Johnson told the network's "Outside the Lines" program that Rodney Guillory gave Mayo about $30,000 and other benefits while he attended high school and his sole season at USC.

Mayo has decided to forego his sophomore year and enter the NBA draft.

According to the network, Guillory received monthly payments from a Northern California sports agency Bill Duffy Associates. A phone message left for the agency was not immediately returned today.

Mayo, a former Huntington High star, issued a statement to ESPN saying he won't allow the allegations to become a distraction to himself or his family.

USC said in a statement that NCAA and Pac-10 officials have looked into Mayo's status before and during his enrollment at USC. The university says it did not identify any violations of his amateur status.

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Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

Posted by: didnt do it on May 14, 2008 at 02:33 PM
OJ DIDNT DO IT

Posted by: john on May 14, 2008 at 12:42 AM
who cares,Im worried about the gas prices.

Posted by: long shot on May 14, 2008 at 12:27 AM
for years I saw local high school foot ball handycaped and bet on . some games were fixed this was in the late 80s and early 90s . I knew then money could control any outcome ,OJ is part of that world now so dont be surprised by this .I also saw a coledge game thrown at bowling green ohio some years ago cell phones and bookies were a force to be reckoned that day .honesty and sportsmanship is not part of the game plan nowdays !

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2008 at 12:10 PM
Elizabeth...never directly received money...if he got money,laundered to him it's a major violation,your stupidity is showing

Posted by: Angie on May 13, 2008 at 09:10 AM
Who cares??????????? If you were offered $30,000.00 and 18, 19, 20 years old even 40 would you take it..uh yeah! Besides if you read the article it says that a FORMER associate is telling this story. Maybe, just maybe they are no longer on friendly terms and this is the "associates" way of getting back at OJ..hmmm something to think about huh? Plus I'm not sure about this but I believe it is legal to accept gifts during your high school years. I know that you can't during college.

Posted by: Joe on May 13, 2008 at 09:01 AM
I was always impressed and proud of OJ. I hope this turns out not to be true. These kids need guidance on these issues. Where was his father? Oh lets not get into that situation.

Posted by: Ryan on May 13, 2008 at 05:59 AM
We don't even know if this is true or not. Leave him alone and it will all work out. Everyone is trying to make a name for themselves at OJ's expense. He is too smart to do this. A 29 on his ACT, I highlky doubt being this intelligent that he took anything from anyone. He works hard for everything he has got.

Posted by: Just wondering? on May 13, 2008 at 02:59 AM
If it is proven that OJ did receive this money while in high school, what happens to HHS's state championship & the games won for that season?

Posted by: Anonymous on May 12, 2008 at 10:46 PM
Why would this surprise anyone? He was a punk when he was still in highschool and everyone let him do whatever he wanted all in the name of winning a stupid game.

Posted by: Elizabeth on May 12, 2008 at 10:39 PM
No one ever want to see a black man succeed. I am one of O's very close child hood friends. You don't kno O and you base all of your ignorant comments on what you hear or think you know about him. He never directly recievd any money so he did nothing wrong. People don't like him and want to take everythingthat he has EARNED through hard work. Quit hatin on my boy and worry about people who are really doing wrong things.

Posted by: booger on May 12, 2008 at 10:10 PM
wow, all the OJ haters... You people a little jealous or what??

Posted by: Philip on May 12, 2008 at 09:01 PM
to OJ fan........he is a great talent,but old enough to know right from wrong...I think USC is culpable as well,they had the same issues with Reggie Bush...these players are continuously told about NOT dealing with agents or being on the take.USC should lose scholarships,and the high schools should forfeit all games he played in....too bad..OJ ruined it for his teamates.OJ is 21 yrs old,he knew better,or he's not a man.The rules should be either high school to the NBA or mandatory 3 yrs of college,the one and done isn't working.I'm glad Patrick Patterson had a good upbringing,you can tell he's much more mature than OJ

Posted by: Pattersonfan on May 12, 2008 at 07:49 PM
Well first of all is anyone really shocked about this???? I think it is ridiculous how these players get paid as much as they do....but that is how it is and unfortunately that will probably never change so what is the difference between him getting paid then and getting paid while he is in the NBA? He definitely has got the talent to play in the NBA so what's the problem. Just like MOD said I am for sure someone accepted money today and will accept it tomorrow. For goodness sake get off the boys case. It would be a different story if he wasn't good enough to play in the NBA. I am for sure that someone in the NBA breaks the rules everyday. It just blows my mind how everyone made him some kind of superstar when he was helping Huntington High win all their games. Some people are just jealous that they don't have the talent that he has.

Posted by: david on May 12, 2008 at 07:16 PM
just what the sports world needs. another OJ from USC doing his thing. on the other hand, who really cares. half the "student atheletes" in college belong in jail, not on a college campus. a few years ago, more than half the starting football lineup at the U of Miami all had felonly criminal records. a good college player will make around $25,000 a year and if he's an all-american, as much as $50,000 or more. USC is no different. look how much the runningback bush made while he was there. i had a personal friend who attended USC "who was also an all-american" who bragged that he never once stepped a foot in a classroom. from superstar to the car wash when his eligability ran out. he was to small for the pro's. thats todays student athelete. good luck with it all. 12/21/12 is only 4 1/2 years from now.

Posted by: Chad on May 12, 2008 at 04:07 PM
Quit making excuses for this cheater, Highlander fans. He was ineligible while playing, now that undefeated season is down the drain as a winless season. Must feel good to be a Highlander.

Posted by: jeff jenkins on May 12, 2008 at 04:01 PM
leave oj alone iv played with him and his a good guy he his in collage let him do what he wants

Posted by: SportsJunkie on May 12, 2008 at 03:51 PM
It happens everywhere, USC needs to be banned and have scholarships stripped. Im not shocked at all really b/c he could have gone anywhere and yet he just out of the blue picked USC. USC hasnt been a big name college basketball program so when OJ chose them over all of the other prestigious programs, you just knew in your gut that it was all about money, power, influence and publicity. They gave reggie bush money and now OJ so whats going to be done?? probably nothing at all.. I guess you could go as far as saying its the NBA's fault for not letting him jump straight to the pros right out of high school. These athletes like oj, donte green from syracuse, kevin love, (and others that could go pro right out of high school) shouldnt even get scholarships to play basketball.. go ahead and pay them to play for you but save the scholarships for STUDENT-ATHLETES.. someone that will stay 3-4 years and get an education and help your program for 3-4 years instead of the whole 1-hit wonder.

Posted by: Corey on May 12, 2008 at 02:28 PM
This happened when he was in high school and possibly before. While I believe that OJ has a pretty good head on his shoulders, he did have to grow up rather quickly due to his 'celebrity' status, and with that he should have known that these things can come back to haunt him, as they are now. I'm not sure what sort of actions can be taken, but regardless someone proved that he did accept illegal cash from someone other than his family. Granted, that is hard to turn down, but he must have known full well that what he was accepting was illegal. OJ needs to handle this with dignity, accept responsibility and move on with his career. We all know this happens much more than when people get caught.

Posted by: Point Of View on May 12, 2008 at 12:32 PM
I don't care how tempting it was for a teen to accept these "perks". It is made abundantly clear that it is against NCAA rules. This is the problem with society in general. Many believe that it's OK for them to do it, or because someone else got away with it, why shouldn't I? WRONG IS WRONG! Personal integrity and responsibility seems to be a fleeing quality in many. One more time for you all out there thinking that he's being picked on. WRONG IS WRONG!!!!

Posted by: MP on May 12, 2008 at 10:52 AM
1) an associate of whom/what? 2) has this one person's accusation been confirmed?

Posted by: o.j.fan on May 12, 2008 at 10:20 AM
HATERS!! JEALOUS HATERS!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: dave on May 12, 2008 at 10:17 AM
Who didn't see this one coming.ESPN always finds a way to crush someone and the family.More then likely this is true about him,but I say most of this has to do with the guy telling the story needing the money.But he is not the only star from Huntington that has taken money.I'm sure Mr.Randy Moss did to while in town.He was driving around in a new 45,000 ride while at Marshall and everyone knows he didn't have that kind of money.NCAA is to blame for this since they changed the age rule.

Posted by: booger on May 12, 2008 at 10:11 AM
hey Phil, if someone offers you $30,000, if you don't want it because of your "morals", I'll take it. Besides, how is accepting money cheating?

Posted by: Anonymous on May 12, 2008 at 09:27 AM
who cares. leave him alone. He worked for it. Think how much money Huntington go just from the doors of the basketball games and all of the fans that came to see him. Now we all know why Randy Moss never gives Huntington W.V any credit. I wouldn't either.

Posted by: jp on May 12, 2008 at 09:19 AM
its been going on for a long time the better the school the better the money dont act like ya didn't know happens in schools every where

Posted by: heather on May 12, 2008 at 09:09 AM
He should have taken that 30,000 dollars and changed his name. I thoght they was talking about OJ Simpson but anyway if he done something wrong he needs to be punish do we want another one to get kick out like the one from WVU cheat once and it will lead 2 bigger thing

Posted by: Daryl on May 12, 2008 at 08:48 AM
I am not a big basketball fan but you have to admit we all like money.

Posted by: Josh on May 12, 2008 at 08:01 AM
Yeah thats real great news Phil because that is the only way anyone could take a win from HHS those years!

Posted by: Ryan on May 12, 2008 at 07:32 AM
Dr. Phil, Hopefully you are not an adult. Otherwise, I feel sorry for your kids for a poor excuse of a father they have.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 12, 2008 at 07:15 AM
This is not shocking! How do you think he had what he had? Cuz his momma had a good job? She makes not much more than minimum wage!

Posted by: Anonymous on May 12, 2008 at 02:27 AM
Mayo is like 21,been an adult for awhile....rules are rules,cheats are cheats

Posted by: Just me on May 12, 2008 at 01:29 AM
I bet there are a lot of athletes that accept things that they shouldn't because of the temptation is just too much for a teenager to resist. Imagine being in high school and someone offering you all kinds of free stuff and cash for your family because you play basketball and are pretty good at it. This promoter who was offering him financial rewards also knew better. Maybe Mayo wanted to help his family pay the bills and he really needed the money and this promoter took advantage of that. I am not excusing the breaking of the rules, just saying I can understand how a minor could be tempted to break them.

Posted by: And this is news? on May 12, 2008 at 12:42 AM
Money is what makes the world go around!!!

Posted by: Phil on May 12, 2008 at 12:16 AM
I love the way wsaz treated Mayo like he was a great star.Now they see what a piece of cheating crap he IS. Huntington High as well as the Cincinnati teams and ug USC will have to forfeit all the games he played in.Now thats great news

Posted by: Bev on May 11, 2008 at 10:51 PM
I'm not a sports fanatic at all but I'm getting tired of this crap. All these people make money from these sports figures and then want to throw mud in their faces. Who gives a flying freak how much money OJ was given. From what I understand he earned it.

Posted by: Janet on May 11, 2008 at 10:27 PM
Aaah, leave him alone.

Posted by: MOD on May 11, 2008 at 08:40 PM
Shocking unless you are from Huntington. I thought we all kept it hid pretty good from rest of country. At least it didn't come out till after he declared for draft. OJ is exceptionally hard worker who has made a lot of money for others already. Even Guillory said OJ didn't spend much money on the ESPN story. Nothing new in this story really. OJ won't be the last to take money early. I am sure somebody still in college got cash today and somebody else will get it tomorrow.

Posted by: rsquared on May 11, 2008 at 08:26 PM
Excuse me while I pretend to be shocked....

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