So another chapter in the Reggie Bush Saga has hit the streets and with it comes more questions. I will not speculate on the outcome or what it means as I have pretty much stated my thoughts on this issue in the past and I stand by those thoughts today.
As you can probably tell from my demeanor in this post I am already bored with this story for a number of reasons. Reggie Bush is no longer a member of this institution and his actions may have put a sterling football reputation on the line although there is still no evidence that SC knew anything in regards to the accusations. SC has attempted to distance themselves from Bush as was shown by not allowing Bush on the sideline at the Rose Bowl earlier this month.
This is a typical he said she said story with accusations going back and forth with one side having some shady characters with checkered pasts and the other being simply greedy and impatient. I'm not interested in the salacious aspect of this scandal only that the truth comes out and that it is resolved. I realize that we may never know the whole truth but to me resolution is more important as the outcome, if negative, could hurt USC for years to come. There are those who will obviously revel in anything that will make SC look bad, that's fine we all have our crosses to bear.
The fact that there may some audio tapes linked with this investigation to me is not at all surprising as both sides angle for the high ground. I am certainly not shocked that someone may have broke the law in order to gain some competitive advantage over the other. I have said it before and I will say it again, money does two things to people-1) it makes them predictable and 2) it makes them stupid and almost always in that order. On the surface that is how this situation looks.
I always love the anonymous source as you can say so much and be accountable for so little as is discussed in this article here.
Bush and his family allegedly received the improper benefits from New Era Sports & Entertainment while he was still playing at USC.
The source, who declined to be identified because of a potential criminal case and civil litigation, said New Era co-founder Lloyd Lake recorded the conversations he had with Bush and his stepfather, LaMar Griffin.
You could look at it a bunch of different ways. Heck, even the lawyers on a number of other boards and blogs can't even agree as to what it's all about so I will just sit back and watch from the cheap seats before getting all worked up.
Who knows what the truth is. It will be a while before we get the whole story as the legal wheelers and dealer's jockey for position. I'm not inclined to get all worked up about these supposed tapes like some will. Some will call it explosive and float out crazy accusations and such, whatever. I am off the opposite opinion, if there is a tape that's great as it will move this situation closer to resolution and put it to bed so that we don't have to go months on end between sensational articles with no resolution in sight.
Who knows what the real story is and in the end who cares. The sting of the original accusations and subsequent rehash over and over of this scandal have numbed most SC fans and if we have to forfeit games and titles then so be it. It WILL be a huge disappointment as there will be much gnashing of teeth but in the end we all know what we saw; one of the greatest offensive producing machines college football has ever seen.
There will be a lot of talk about character and that SC is a bunch of cheaters and thugs Blah Blah Blah. I have learned just ignore it and move on. I have also learned that most of that talk comes from jealously and feelings insignificance or failure and the only response is to lash out at those who some feel are responsible. Could it be humiliating for SC? You bet, but the sun will still rise in the east and set in the west and life will go on. If nothing is to come of these allegations then you will here all sorts of cries of favoritism and looking the other way, again whatever. To those detractors I say- that's life, deal will it and move on, there is no guarantee of fairness or justice.
We, SC fans, continue to look ahead to what we hope will be another great recruiting class and another great season of USC football. That in the end is all that matters and that is all I care about.