One thing that really stands out as odd to me in this whole situation is the alleged benefits. It has been reported that Guillory received from BDA some 200k and an SUV while Mayo only received 30k and a flatscreen TV while he rides around campus on his bicycle. If we are to believe Johnson’s word here then to me something is amiss. Sure, 30k is a big chunk of change to most of us but in the bigger picture regardless of whether he received it over 4-5 years or just his one-year at USC is that the best Mayo could do? Heck, in 2 years it is alleged that Reggie Bush took 300k from Lake and he wasn’t hyped half as much as Mayo was.
Johnson is being vague here as he could only point to a few wire transfers to West Virginia for a few hundred bucks. The other receipts are nice and all but do they prove that Mayo actually received any of this stuff? Has anyone actually seen this flatscreen TV? Do we know what size it is? I know there are rumors of it being a 42-inch but for all we know was it a 1080p plasma or could it have been a 780p that you can get new for $800 or less? Heck, he could have even gotten it used for $500 for all we know.
To me he either didn’t receive any of this stuff or to quote a friend “The guy sucks at getting benefits.” That being said it is of course indeed possible that he took something so I am not saying that Mayo is in the clear. Maybe Mayo was foolish enough to think he could get away with little things as long as he didn't do anything big. Who knows?
The more you read the more questions you have, the reporting on this seems incomplete here. Bolch’s interview of Mayo on Thursday took a bit of a gratuitous angle when he cited that Mayo got into a new Porsche Cayenne and drove away. Two things here, it’s vague enough for the question to be asked was Mayo driving the vehicle? If so, so what Mayo has already declared and has signed with an agent and it’s not uncommon for an agent to float some money for a new car and such. I mean its not like they won’t get the money back it will probably be deducted from Mayo’s first NBA check. All that last paragraph in Bolch’s article did was paint Mayo unnecessarily in a bad light.
Now that the shock has worn off maybe people will start asking tough questions on both sides of the equation.
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