Allegations that a Los Angeles events promoter provided USC basketball star O.J. Mayo tens of thousands of dollars in cash and benefits, if proved, could lead to the Trojans facing forfeiture of victories or more serious sanctions.
Rodney Guillory provided Mayo with a flat-screen television, cellphone service, cash, meals, clothes and other benefits dating back to when the top NBA prospect entered high school, according to Louis Johnson, a former confidant of Mayo, who made the allegations on the ESPN show "Outside the Lines," which aired Sunday morning.
Supplying expense receipts and money transfer orders to corroborate his account, Johnson said Guillory was acting as a representative for Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management, the agency who Mayo recently announced would represent him as a pro. In that capacity, Johnson told ESPN, Guillory received more than $200,000 in cash and benefits, including a sports utility vehicle, sharing only a fraction of what he received with Mayo.
And when the agency stopped paying Guillory the summer before Mayo enrolled at USC, Johnson said Guillory set up a fake charity and used donation money to fund his expenses.
Neither Guillory, Mayo or Johnson could be reached by The Times on Sunday.
"The fact of the matter is, O.J. has been pimped by Rodney," Johnson said in the ESPN report. Johnson, a former reporter for the Long Beach Press-Telegram, recently had a falling out with Guillory and said he spoke because he wanted to bring the matter to the public's attention and "force O.J. to make some changes in his life . . . that he desperately needs right now."
Guillory's alleged actions constitute the second set of potentially major violations recently to rock USC, which is still dealing with an NCAA investigation into whether former football running back Reggie Bush received improper benefits from a would-be sports marketer.
Asked whether her organization would look into the Mayo matter, NCAA spokeswoman Gail Dent said the organization's policies prohibit any comment on whether investigations are pending or ongoing.
A compliance director for another West Coast university, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to comment about other schools, said potential penalties facing USC would hinge on whether school officials were aware of wrongdoing. Penalties could include forfeiture of victories, probation, loss of television appearances, scholarship losses or other recruiting restrictions.
