The bylaws also state that if a college or individual involved in an NCAA investigation makes information public, then the school, the individual or the association "may confirm, correct or deny the information."
"We don't put a gag order on a school," said NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn. "And they can do their own complete investigation. . . . It's an incredibly common practice for schools to self-impose penalties."
A notable example involved the University of Oklahoma, where administrators in 2006 quickly dismissed two starting football players who allegedly accepted pay from a car dealer for work they didn't perform. The NCAA still penalized the university for not monitoring the athletes more closely, but its appeals committee later eased the punishment, citing in part the school's prompt removal of the players.
Dave Czesniuk, operations director for Northeastern University's Sport in Society program, which offers instruction in athletics leadership and ethics, said that "transparency is of huge importance" for schools in USC's straits, and that campus presidents should lead the search for truth.
"Do you always just take this reactionary approach, and just have damage control? No," Czesniuk said. "What a lot of presidents would do is get right at it, just for the simple sake of getting control of their own backyard."
Lake and Michaels have said they gave Bush and his family a total of about $300,000 in inducements as part of an arrangement for the player to work with them after he joined the NFL.
Now with the New Orleans Saints, Bush has denied any wrongdoing but reportedly has refused to be interviewed by the NCAA. His attorney did not respond to interview requests from The Times.
Lake is suing Bush over the purported marketing deal. Bush has settled a lawsuit brought by Michaels.
Last October, USC attorney Kelly Bendell sent a letter to attorney Watkins requesting that Lake, his sister and mother submit to interviews with the school and Pac 10 officials. The letter said USC "was not allowed to participate" in NCAA interviews of the three but did not specify who excluded the school or why.
Asked about the letter, Watkins told The Times that he responded to Bendell and had been prepared to make his client available for an interview, but she never got back to him. Mauch Amir declined to discuss the letter, as did a Pac-10 official.
