Bush can run, but he can’t hide
Reggie Bush has dodged linebackers, defensive linemen, safeties, and the occasional cornerback every game since he started playing organized football, but Bush won't be able to dodge the newest allegations about him and his family receiving improper gifts during Bush's tenure at USC. Yahoo! Sports had the latest on the news.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush and his family
appear to have accepted gifts, money and other benefits worth more than $100,000
from two marketing agents while the Heisman Trophy winner was still playing at
Southern California, according to a report posted Thursday on Yahoo.com.
After practice Friday, Bush responded to questions about the report much the
same as he did when the allegations of improper benefits first were reported
earlier this year.
"I'm not worried about any of these allegations or anything like that," he
said. "Because I know what the truth is, like I said from day one. Once the
smoke clears, everybody's going to see we did nothing wrong."
The report says Michael Michaels, a marketing agency investor who wanted to
represent the football star, and current Bush marketing agent Mike Ornstein
lavished Bush and his family with gifts while he was still at USC, each hoping
to entice him to sign with them once he left school.
Bush eventually chose Ornstein, which caused a falling out between Michaels
and Bush's family.
Speculation over whether Bush and his family received money arose earlier
this year in reports that his mother and stepfather didn't pay $54,000 in rent
during the year they lived in a house owned by Michaels, who later said the
family promised to repay him once Bush went pro.
The NCAA prohibits student-athletes and their families from receiving extra
benefits from agents or their representatives. Any improper benefits could lead
to NCAA sanctions against USC and retroactively cost Bush his college
eligibility and Heisman Trophy.
"Obviously it does affect you just because it is out there," Bush said.
"But at the same time I know there's nothing to worry about.
"It makes you want to go out there right away and tell your side of the
story. Show everybody the facts, the truth. But you can't do that. That wouldn't
be the right way to do it."
The report was based on an eight-month investigation by Yahoo Sports, citing
documents and interviews with on-the-record sources close to the situation. It
lists several instances in which Bush and his family appear to have received
financial benefits, including:
– Suits for Bush's stepfather and brother to wear during the Dec. 10, 2005
Heisman ceremony in New York, a makeover for his mother for the event and
limousine transportation — all paid for by Ornstein.
– Two hotel stays by Bush, one in Las Vegas and another in San Diego, during
March 2005. In both instances, the rooms were paid for by Michaels.
– $13,000 from Michaels' fledgling firm, New Era Sports & Entertainment, to
purchase and modify a car for Bush.
– $595.20 in round-trip airfare from San Diego to Oakland in November 2005
for Bush's stepfather, LaMar Griffin, his mother, Denise Griffin and younger
brother to attend the USC-California game at Berkeley. The charges were put on a
credit card belonging to Jamie Fritz, one of Ornstein's employees.
Ornstein said he believes that when Fritz paid for airfare and a limousine
for the Bush family's trip to the Cal game, the money was eventually paid back.
Asked whether he was aware that such loans could constitute an NCAA violation,
Ornstein told Yahoo: "I have no idea."
A phone message left by The Associated Press for Bush's attorney, David
Cornwell, and Ornstein were not immediately returned late Thursday.
Ornstein denied to Yahoo any wrongdoing on his and Bush's behalf.
"Reggie Bush never received an extra benefit from Mike Ornstein other than
what he was allowed to get from the NCAA when he worked with us," Ornstein told
Yahoo. He added Bush was an intern at his marketing company in the summer of
2005. "I feel pretty damn good about that."
The NCAA and Pac-10 are investigating whether any rules were broken when
Bush's family lived in the home owned by Michaels. Cornwell also said earlier
this summer that FBI agents interviewed him about "potential federal crimes"
by phone in June. The FBI would neither confirm nor deny whether a federal
investigation was under way.
The NFL players union also is investigating the rent payments.
In a statement released by USC counsel Kelly Bendell, the school said it is
cooperating with the probe but "cannot comment on any matter that is the
subject of an ongoing NCAA and Pac-10 investigation."
Saints spokesman Greg Bensel told the AP the team would not comment on
matters involving Bush when he was in college.
"It doesn't involve the Saints," he said.
The allegations would have no effect on Bush's professional football career,
a person within the NFL with knowledge of Bush's standing in the league told the
AP. The source asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the
situation.
Bush was expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, but the
Houston Texans bypassed him and took North Carolina State defensive end Mario
Williams. Bush went to New Orleans with the second pick.
AP Sports writers Brett Martel in New Orleans and John Nadel in Los Angeles
contributed to this report.
After reading this article, it has to bother Saints and Reggie Bush fans that these allegations have come about once again. For the sake of Bush, who many believe is honest in his words, let's hope this thing clears up. Here's to hoping that Reggie Bush can dodge any further trouble with the NCAA.
-Written by CCN staff writer Brady Holzhauer, and a special thanks to Yahoo! Sports