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The Reggie Bush Investigation: ESPN Ignores Potentially the Biggest Story in College Football History
Posted by The Danza on Nov 9, 2007
For what could be the most important story in college football history, the NCAA’s 22-month investigation into Reggie Bush has been hidden in the shadows since the story was first broken in early 2006. Sure, players have accepted money while playing in college in the past, and schools have been put on probation for various reasons that caused them to forfeit past games or lose future scholarships. Arguably, never before has the possibility of NCAA sanctions had the potential to change so much about a school’s or player’s recent history than what could happen with USC and Reggie Bush.
When this story was first brought to the public’s attention in early 2006, the NCAA’s investigation had been underway for two months. It was reported that Bush’s family had lived in Michael Michaels’, a San Diego businessman, $750,000-850,000 house rent-free for a year. This rent was valued at $54,000 according to a Yahoo! Sports report from September 2006. The ESPN story made the headlines and sports news broadcasts for the next few days but then lost steam and seemed to be forgotten by the general public. After all, this was USC and Reggie Bush we’re talking about here. This was arguably the most popular college team/player of the 21st century. Bush would have never done anything to jeopardize his and his school’s position in the history books by accepting financial aid from sports agents and marketing firms, and then subsequently continued playing for USC. Would he?
If a college player accepts money or is involved with a professional sports agent or marketing firm, he is then ruled ineligible and can no longer compete as an amateur in collegiate sports (the NCAA rules relevant in this case can be found here). As it turns out, the rent-free housing provided was just the tip of the iceberg according to the parties involved. Michael Michaels and Lloyd Lake was just beginning to get their new business, New Era Sports & Entertainment, up and running and had the brilliant idea to try to get arguably the most electric player in college football history. The problem? Reggie Bush was still in college and this was blatantly against NCAA rules. Whether it was out of naiveness or inexperience, Michaels and Lake thought they could get away with this and began to actively recruit Bush as their first client, eventually allegedly signing him for marketing and memorabilia deals with the agency. Most of this information was not brought to light until Bush signed a contract with another agency, and Lake filed a lawsuit against Bush and his family (Michaels had previously reached a settlement with the family). Not only was Michaels and Lake pursuing Bush as a client but so was Mike Omstein, who also is accused of providing financial assistance to Bush and his family while Bush was in college, but to a lesser extent. How did Bush and all of the other parties involved actually think that they could get away with being courted by two different agencies and receiving allegedly over $300,000 in financial assistance for him and his family, while playing for the #1 team in the nation, winning the Heisman, and constantly being at the center of the sports media’s attention? Stupidity and greed are the only reasons I can think of. In a September 2006 report, Yahoo! Sports listed the overwhelming items and funds given to Bush by these agencies. Beginning after the fourth paragraph of this report, you can find that list. Finished? And Bush still claims that he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing? Call me judgmental, but I can’t see that being the case, not with that many overwhelming allegations of that magnitude.
Fast-foward to yesterday, November 8, 2007. The story is revived after what seems like almost a year of hibernation by a Yahoo! Sports report claiming from its sources that Lake has surrendered over two hours of phone conversations between Bush and his stepfather, LaMar Griffin, to the NCAA for the investigation. Four sources (FOUR! 4! Cuatro! Not one crazy, suicidal guy, but FOUR different people) say that these recorded conversations show financial agreements between Bush and Lake that date back to 2004. Is this on the front page of ESPN.com? At the time of this post’s publication, no. You have to go eight items down the list in the college football section of the website to find a half-page report from November 7 about the NCAA’s meeting scheduled with Lake. On the other hand, Yahoo! Sports homepage has the story on the front page as one its top two stories. Does ESPN lack the number and quality of connections and sources needed to get this information? Something tells me that the largest sports news source in the U.S. would have knowledge of this breaking news and realize its importance in the college football world. Why, ESPN? THIS COULD BE THE BIGGEST THING TO HAPPEN IN COLLEGE SPORTS HISTORY! Give us something, at least.
Wait a second. Does this have anything to do with ESPN’s and ABC’s (both run by Disney) $229 million contract to broadcast Pac-10 football games or their contract to broadcast Pac-10 basketball games? Why else would a news source blatantly ignore a story that could strip a Heisman Trophy, forfeit a national championship, and possibly sanction one of the most storied and popular programs in NCAA football history? I’m in shock, or am I? Money talks, and especially when you have $229 million invested in a football conference where its biggest team is potentially going to be sanctioned. What kind of sanctions could happen to the school if any official or coach of the school is found to have known about Bush’s dealings? Well, they are sometimes banned from bowl games, lose scholarships, and/or lose the ability to be televised for a certain time period. That last sanction is an interesting one and, while not common, is still very possible (see Oklahoma St., Auburn). How much would the value of that $229 million contract be affected if the most watched school in that conference was no longer allowed to be broadcast? I would argue, quite a bit. Nevermind that the most prestigious award in college sports and the national title could change hands. Disney may lose some money.
Maybe they are thinking that they shouldn’t bring any more attention to it than it already has gotten. Who else better to suppress it than the leading distributor of sports news in the U.S.? I say, ESPN, give us something worthy of what’s at stake here. Give us a front page story. Break in during a broadcast on ESPN to tell us about this breaking news. Give us a headline. This is big, big, big. We deserve something. Or maybe our allegiance is just not worth $229 million.
Nicely written, this is huge. They seem to cover OJ and he is a former USC running back that has gotten himself into trouble, why not Mr. Bush? Do they have a soft spot for Nawlins’? Do the want to wait until the college football season is over with? The bottom line is money, money got Mr. Bush and his family in this mess. Money or future revenue is what the agents were thinking about. Money seems to be why ESPN is taking such a soft stance. College football is a business now, its no longer pure and innocent. If you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying.
The result of the OJ investigation doesn’t necessarily mean less money for ESPN, though, as it won’t directly affect USC in the present. The fact that USC could face NCAA sanctions and possibly fewer televised games or no bowl games from the Bush scandal could affect a huge investment ESPN has made in USC and the Pac-10.
What the hell does an 8 month yahoo sports investigation entail? what are they asking around? seems kind of shady to me. is the NCAA investigating? Not saying this stuff didn’t happen, but if I were ESPN I wouldn’t report this stuff either unless some concrete events were set in motion by relevant investigative committees besides yahoo sports. are there other organizations investigating currently?
Yes, the eight-month investigation was referring to the NCAA investigation. The NCAA began its investigation in January 2006. The Pac-10 began its own investigation later. This is a very serious story with plenty of legs. That’s why I’m so curious as to why it’s not a bigger deal yet. My guess is that this story will explode, and ESPN won’t be able to ignore it.
The marketer has already met with the NCAA twice and turned over evidence to them!
Many of us believe ESPN has knowingly and shamelessly been promoting the USC program. The lack of coverage is the latest in an unbroken string of evidence starting with the glorification of a B+ receiver, Keyshawn
Johnson.
naw man, Keyshawn was good in his day. You want a receiver who wants the ball in his hands
Would you say he was ever among the top
4 receivers in the league???
Would you put him in the same category as Moss, Owens or Rice???
He, by far, got more positive coverage
from ESPN than any of them.
He was making ESPN commercials in his
rookie year.
B+ performance A+++ attention.
More recently…
Would you hire him as an announcer???
His ESPN glorification was the beginning
of the USC resurgence. His enrollment
at USC was engineered by John Robinson
who was the architect (along w/ Marv
Goux) of their last probation. We believe this is all related.
Matt Leinart, anyone? He did well in college and was hyped to high heaven coming into the NFL, but did anybody think he had the arm strength or mobility for the NFL? As you can tell, it wasn’t working out too well for him, even before he got hurt.
And no, I would not hire Keyshawn as an announcer. He was a pretty good possession receiver, but that’s about as far as I’ll take it.
Reggie Bush anyone? absolutely no talent there….
We’re obviously not saying that no good players come from USC, only that ESPN hypes many more coming out of USC that turn out to be flops than they do at other schools. They have a bias to markets that make them money. It’s smart business, but as a consumer of their product, we have the right to voice our opinion about it as well or eventually boycott it if it bothers us enough. I would prefer the former since they are the largest sports news source. It’s all about trade-offs at this point, but naturally, I would like to not have to make those trade-offs at all.
Reggie was the sixth or seventh best rookie last year…
the second best on his team…..
This year he might be among the top 15
running backs..
Still nearly all NFL promos include him..
The result of relentless ESPN promotion
such as “Reggie’s Top 10 plays” which
aired the week before Heisman voting.
ESPN purports to be a “news
organization” and has a responsibility to report the news; not create it.
a few of the creations….
Carson Palmer’s undeserved Heisman..
USC’s phantom 2003 championship…
The sabotage of Vince Young to hand Reggie the Heisman.
Their actions go way beyond hyping big market guys…
Their motivation is suspect (at best).
was Keyshawn a top 5 receiver? Never
Is he in the same class as Moss or Owens? No
Was he essentially a possession receiver? Yes
When he played, aside from Randy Moss and T.O., was he obnoxious? Yes
Did he play hard? Maybe not all the time but he didn’t quit on his team like Randy Moss did with Oakland.
If my team was on the 20 yard line going in for the game tying/winning touchdown and I needed a receiver to make a play and go up and catch the damn ball would i want anyone else? Aside from T.O. and Moss, Absolutely not. Keyshawn’s mouth got him a lot, but he possessed the ability to make a play when he needed to, and for that he doesn’t get enough credit.
Beat the Bushes - you obviously don’t like USC but Reggie Bush was the better player until the Championship game. You don’t get over 500 yards total offense in one game from the running back spot and not be great. The AP voted USC the National Champion in 2003 when LSU won the BCS, not ESPN.
As far as Keyshawn as an announcer, he is a studtio analyst and he looked pretty good at last year’s NFL draft. In my opinion, of the players who have retired in the last five years to be a studio guy (shannon sharpe, terrell davis, emmitt smith, tiki barber and jerome bettis) Keyshawn is much better and much more entertaining.
I was just trying to say something obviously false with the Bush comment, one of those “its funny cuz its not true” things, it wasnt meant as an argument.
Beat the Bushes makes a good point, though i think Reggie’s marginal success in the NFL doesn’t diminish the amazing things he did in college. I agree Vince was robbed, but i dont think there is any way that vince doesn’t win if they vote after the season is over like they should.
That’s a problem I have with the voting system. I believe the postseason should count. Take the AL Cy Young. Sabathia wins because votes are submitted before the season’s over. Had they been submitted after the World Series, my guess is Beckett overwhelmingly wins. What should define a player’s caliber is whether they do well when it really counts. Whether that favors players whose teams make the postseason and maybe eventually get to the World Series, then so be it. That’s why they play the game.
Spider..
did you notice that in prior years the
LSU - OU game had always been referred to as the “national championship game”.
All of sudden ESPN started advertising
it as the “BCS championship game”.
The BCS was set up to avoid split championships.
The system that had been agreed upon decided that SC did not deserve to play in the game, anymore than Auburn or Utah
did in 2004. Because of the relationship
between ESPN and SC we are bombarded
with lies about “repeat national championships”. LSU is now ranked #1..
have we heard at all about their 2003
(legitimate) championship?????
Keyshawn..
to me he sounds like an idiot. If you think he’s doing a good job…”OK”.
But the guys you mention (shannon etc)
which of those guys would you trade for
2 Keyshawns. From the day he entered the league he has received dramatically more
ESPN promo than any of them. Understand,
I think he was a good player. But a guy
who was never better than #6 (as you agreed) does not deserve what this guy got. I think his publicity was bought and paid for. Part of something larger.
Vince Young…
“Vince Young’s subpar game” over and over and over… you must have heard it.
Bush had 3 or 4 games that year with
50 yards and no touchdowns. Yet in the
weeks before the voting we get “Vince Young’s subpar game” and “Reggie’s Top 10 plays”.
Check it out.. watch for how much ESPN
OJ Mayo will get..since he’s playing for
the perennial basketball powerhouse.
Reggie will get air time running sideline to sideline for no gain but
no air time for cheating..
The coverage for USC is way out of proportion and is the reason for their
accelerated resurgence.
There is much more if your interested…
grundlbunny, i got your comment mixed up with beat the bushes. That’s what happens when you drink and start typing. My apologies to both of you.
Keep drinking and watch ESPN carefully…..
I think this whole barry bonds indictment thing is obviously a rue meant to take focus off the Bush investigation. Damn ESPN and their west coast bias.
Isn’t Barry Bonds from the West Coast?
[...] little over a month ago, TH&L ran a piece on the Reggie Bush NCAA investigation and how it is not being highly publicized by the major sports [...]
I would like nothing more than for Reggir Bush to loose his Heiseman Trophy!!! I live in Oklahoma, and haven’t heard much of the story until I read about it on Yahoo. WHY, WHY, I ask you is none of the BIG major sports not talking about it. If he has done what he has been accused of, he needs to tell the truth. When will these sports jocks learn it’s much better to tell the truth!!!!
[...] here. These dudes are number 63 on fortune 500, yo. And everyone has to read this article: “ The Reggie Bush Investigation: ESPN Ignores Potentially the Biggest Story in College Football Histor…. I’m not going to excerpt from it, because I’m making you go over and read it. So as to [...]
ESPN and the NCAA appear to be co-conspirators in burying this story. This should be the biggest college football news story in 2008.
Many good college football programs have been severly punished for lesser infractions. The news organizations and the NCAA have a responsiblity to thoroughly investigate and accurately report the findings. Where is the justice?
I am sick and tired of hearing people say,”It’s not that big of a deal, eveyone knows college players everywhere get benefits.” It is a big freakin deal. Rules are rules. And yes I realize that people break them, but if the rule enforcer can find evidence of an infraction the perpetrator should be punished. Otherwise 10 years from now college football will be in the same position the MLB is now where they let something slide for too long knowing that violations were occuring.
Interesting comparison to MLB. That’s exactly what happened to it. The problem with the NCAA is that it seems to pick and choose its fights, handing down harsh punishments for some schools while letting others slide. At least the MLB was nondiscriminatorily ignorant, I guess.
“At least the MLB was nondiscriminatorily ignorant”
Ha I love that description. Well put good sir.
FYI: New Report on Bush regarding a deposition to take place.
[...] have been reporting on the subject of ESPN’s lack of coverage of the investigation since early in November , when I informed the readers of the huge television and radio contract that ESPN and ABC have with [...]
What are the latest updates on this investigation? Reggie Bush refuses to work with the NCAA to this day. Would any other player get away with this for so long? USC continues to go about its daily business without anything coming of the investigation. Reggie continues to cut commercials and clean up his image when he should be worried about his Heisman and USC records. The evidence is more overwhelming then most stories of this nature, yet nothing seems to be coming from it?
Please don’t let this story die out. Reggie Bush and USC need to reap what they sow and the only way to make that happen is to continually let the general public know the facts…Politicians are getting involved in the Bowl Game vs Playoff system debate in order to allow for better fairness…Allowing USC and one of it’s top former players to get away with cheating does not bode well for fairness in college sports.
Maybe it isn’t because it did not happen the way some dumbass wannabe sports writer from Yahoo sports (what a joke in itself)Reported a bunk story. This “company” New Era Sports is nothing, and tried to make a name for themselves by doing something illegal to start with. So gee isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? You people need to do a little more research before you believe anything Yahoo reports.
Is it not blatantly obvious that the NCAA does not pursue this more aggressively because there is nothing to pursue?
I am willing to bet 1/2 of you are complaining because of a split championship, and the other 1/2 are complaining because your hick teams do not get as much national airtime as does USC, which if you know how to read a sports page, actually wins games with or without Reggie Bush.