Most sports fans know that the USC Trojans football team has been investigated recently for possible rules violations. A sports agent in California has claimed that he gave over $275,000 in benefits to New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush while he was playing at USC. In addition, the agent claims he also provided a $600,000 home for Bush's family to live in free of charge while Bush was playing at USC. The agent claims that Bush agreed to hire him as his agent when he entered the NFL in exchange for these benefits.
If these accusations are correct, it would mean that Bush should be ruled ineligible while he was playing at USC, as it is against NCAA rules for college athletes to accept such benefits from a sports agent. The result would most likely be USC having to forfeit games they won that Bush played in and would mean that USC would be stripped of a National Championship they won with Bush playing. In addition, Bush possibly could be forced to surrender the Heisman Trophy he won in the event he was found to be ineligible. USC football would most likely be hit with sanctions and put on probation not being allowed to go to bowl games as well as losing scholarships.
Upon entering the NFL, Bush did not hire this particular agent. In turn, the agent sued him demanding to be repaid the benefits he provided while Bush was at USC. The NCAA has done their own investigating. They interviewed Bush who denied any wrong doing or taking of benefits. Well, now the lawsuit has progressed in the courts. Bush was scheduled to testify UNDER OATH - MEANING IF HE IS FOUND TO BE LYING HE COULD BE CHARGED WITH PERJURY AND FACE JAIL TIME - Friday, April 23, 2010.
If he did not take any benefits or do anything wrong, Bush should be able to testify with no worries, one would think. After, all that is what he told the NCAA. In the days before he was to testify, Reggie Bush settled with this agent out of court ending the lawsuit. Settled meaning, he made the agent happy enough that the agent dropped the lawsuit and did not progress with it. The settlement is a sealed agreement that is not released to the public. Settlements usually mean that the person being sued pays the other person to drop the lawsuit. Not always, but usually.
With all of this knowledge, I ask you the reader, why did Reggie Bush settle the lawsuit if he did nothing wrong? Why didn't he take the witness stand and state the same things he did to the NCAA? And my last question is, why hasn't anyone in the national media been making a big issue of this?
The NCAA has not released the findings and/or punishments of their investigation. However, it appears they will only use the information from their interview of Bush since Bush never testified in the lawsuit. I don't know about you, but as a college football fan this seems like a pretty big deal to me. National Championship and Heisman trophy won with an ineligible player. Is it fair to the other players and teams who competed those years that the NCAA turn a blind eye to what would be very disturbing to the average fan? Would you consider the fact that Bush settled out of court an admission that he in fact did something wrong while at USC? Questions that will never be answered but only disappear with the settlement of the lawsuit.
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