LOS ANGELES (AP)—The head of the sports agency representing O.J. Mayo denied
any illegal activity involving the Southern California star on Monday, a day
after ESPN reported Bill Duffy Associates gave cash to an event promoter who
provided gifts.
“We are in contact with the NCAA and the Pac-10 and are working with both
in a cooperative investigation to review these new allegations,” USC said in a
statement issued later in the day.
Mayo, who sat courtside for Game 4 of the Boston-Cleveland second-round
playoff series Monday night, said he was hoping to get more information about
the situation when he returned to school.
“I don’t think it’s good just because I’m really focused on the job, really
wanting to do well on my workouts and my preparation, but at the same time it’s
kind of a road block, another obstacle,” Mayo told The Associated Press. “I
just want to get to the bottom of it and just find out what’s really going on.”
Louis Johnson, a former associate of Mayo’s, told ESPN’s “Outside the
Lines” that BDA Sports provided Rodney Guillory with about $200,000 before Mayo
arrived at USC. Johnson said a portion of that money was given to Mayo.
“I haven’t seen any evidence of them saying we gave O.J. Mayo a dime, and
that has not happened,” Duffy told the AP. “I don’t see any evidence of any
other type of transaction. This is what this guy is saying. Obviously his
credibility should be in question as well.”
Mayo has declared for the NBA draft and hired BDA Sports’ Calvin Andrews as
his agent. ESPN reported Sunday that Mayo received about $30,000 and other
benefits while in high school and during his lone season at USC, then entered
into a verbal agreement that allowed the agency to represent him when he turned
pro.
But Duffy said he only recently met Mayo, and only knew Guillory through the
player.
“That’s what’s crazy. I met O.J. Mayo for the first time like three weeks
ago. I met him once before that in Vegas, I ran into him during USA Basketball
for like 30 seconds. He was running to a car, I was coming into a hotel,
somebody introduced us, we shook hands and that was it. This is the first time
I’ve actually formally met him.”
A message left Monday night for Guillory was not immediately returned, and
Johnson could not be located for comment.
NBA commissioner David Stern said the league can work with the NCAA, shoe
companies, USA Basketball, and high school and coaches associations to protect
the athletes.
“Maybe this is the opportunity to do more education about what’s right and
what’s wrong, who to trust and who not, and what the risks are for making bad
decisions,” Stern said in Cleveland. “It’s not our primary sort of role here,
but we understand there is a role to be played.”
NCAA rules prohibit giving college athletes money or other gifts. Johnson,
who claims he didn’t get paid, also gave ESPN receipts and invoices for many of
the purchases.
“From what I can see, those receipts were from his purchases,” Duffy said.
“We had nothing to do with that. I don’t even know who this Lou Johnson guy
is.”
AP Sports Writer Tom Withers and Associated Press writer Joe Milicia in
Cleveland, and AP Assistant Sports Editor for the South region Oscar Dixon
contributed to this report.
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The head of the sports agency representing basketball player O.J. Mayo denied any illegal activity involving the Southern California star on Monday.
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