Calling the accusations against him "a publicity stunt," O.J. Mayo on Wednesday emphatically denied allegations that he accepted cash and gifts in violation of NCAA rules and said his accuser might be striking back after he severed ties between them.
Mayo said he would cooperate with investigations by the NCAA and Pacific 10 Conference after a report he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in prohibited extra benefits before and during the one season he played basketball for USC.
"My family hasn't accepted anything, so I'm just waiting for the NCAA to do what they have to do to prove that I haven't done anything wrong," Mayo said.
Louis Johnson, a former Mayo confidant who worked as a sportswriter and has a cocaine conviction, claimed L.A. events promoter Rodney Guillory was given a new luxury sports utility vehicle and about $200,000 in cash, funneling a portion of what he received to Mayo on behalf of a sports agent.
Johnson, who made the accusations on a segment of ESPN's "Outside the Lines," said he was an associate of Guillory's before they had a falling out.
Mayo had just completed his last school final when he paused to speak to a reporter.
"I can't speak for what Rodney has done," he said. "God forbid, he hasn't done anything. But I know for a fact that I haven't accepted anything."
Johnson said the SUV and cash Guillory received came from Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management, and he produced receipts to show that Guillory had provided Mayo with food, clothes and other services.
When Mayo announced he was leaving USC to turn pro, he also announced that his agent would be BDA vice president Calvin Andrews.
Duffy told the SportsBusiness Journal late Tuesday that he had documentation proving his agency had not broken rules.
Mayo said he wasn't worried about the receipts because "you can get a [bunch] of receipts without any trail."
Johnson claimed a flat-screen television in Mayo's dorm room was a gift from Guillory, but Mayo said he had brought it with him from home in Huntington, W.Va.
Mayo also said he paid his own way when he went shopping and ate with Guillory.
"I understand compliance and I understand the rules," Mayo said. "Any meal, I wouldn't pay for everybody but I would at least pay my end. When I went to go shop every once in a while, [Guillory] might have taken me to the store in his vehicle, but he didn't pay for any clothes for me."
