Getting Uglier: Pete Carroll & Southern Cal Get Rocked By New Drug Scandal

Bumped. Petey's presser is on right now. You can follow via Huffington Post,  www.am570radio.com and also on KTLA5 (those who are in LA). Let us know if there is comedy we should take note of. GO BRUINS. -N

I had a feeling it was going to get uglier this am. Had no idea things were going to get this ugly this fast.

SI.com just posted a brand new disturbing story about former assistant football coach of Pete Carroll name Dave Watson. The title of the article reads, "Carroll knew about coach's drug addiction before car crash." Uh yeah. These is shocking stuff:

[Dave] Watson also confirmed under oath what those closest to him already knew: that he had developed a significant addiction to painkillers since his college playing career in the 1990s. When asked where he had received his prescriptions while coaching at USC, Watson gave the names of 12 doctors associated with the university, six of whom were team doctors for USC football. Watson had already provided the court extensive documentation of these prescriptions, including dates, drug names and pill amounts.

Finally, when asked if he had ever notified a supervisor of his addiction, Watson said yes, he had told his boss and mentor, Carroll, in February 2008, three months before the car accident.

This latest revelation moved Valentin's [54-year-old Alaric Valentin involved in car crash with Watson] attorneys to argue that Carroll is partly responsible for his injuries, pointing out in a letter to USC's counsel that Carroll "is the direct supervisor of Mr. Watson ... had actual notice of Mr. Watson's prescription pill addiction, actual notice that Mr. Watson was using a car provided for work use by USC, [and] actual notice of the fact that USC team doctors were writing the prescriptions for the drugs to which Mr. Watson was addicted, and nonetheless continued to allow Mr. Watson to use the company car."

Got your attention. It gets lot worse (at least in terms of optics) for Pete Carroll and Southern California Trojans. More eyepopping details after the jump.

Apparently Mr. Watson "embodied" Carroll's "always compete" philosophy while he was at U$C*:

USC's newest graduate assistant endeared himself to the players, who called him Coach Sweaty because his shirt was always soaked. That nickname endured through Watson's promotion to full-time defensive line coach in 2006, along with his habit of bounding around the practice field with an energy that defied his bum knee, foot, and ailing back. Watson proved adept at selling Carroll's "always compete" philosophy to recruits because he embodied it so thoroughly himself.

However,  the breakup hasn't been pretty:

Carroll fired Watson a year ago this week after the Trojans capped a 12-1 season with a Rose Bowl win over Penn State. Watson, who had taken a brief leave of absence after the car accident and returned to coach the Trojans' defensive line throughout the season, was told by Carroll that he was "too hard on the players, too demanding," according to Watson.

Watson did not accept that as the real reason for his dismissal -- then, or today. His past addiction was no longer a secret. He was let go just four months after The Los Angeles Times published a feel-good story about his road to recovery in which Carroll said, "He's operating at his very best. It's great to see him feeling good." Nevertheless, Watson's abrupt firing gave the impression of a program who wanted Watson, his drug problem, and his messy car wreck to go away. (Last week, USC sports information director Tim Tessalone declined an e-mail request to interview Carroll and six team doctors, stating "the people you list cannot comment" before directing SI.com to the university's legal counsel. That office had not responded to SI.com as of Monday afternoon.)

The story is long and it has lots of eye popping details including this:

It hasn't been easy for Watson to testify about Carroll, whom he still reveres. (Watson said he hasn't spoken with Carroll since January 2009, yet he got choked up when asked about their relationship, calling Carroll "my mentor, a great man.") Although Carroll fired him, and despite USC's efforts to place all blame for the crash on Watson, Watson recently expressed his need to "protect the team" -- the first of Carroll's three cardinal team rules.

Only Carroll knows whether the Watson case played a role in his decision to accept the Seattle Seahawks job, but according to one USC source, "it sure isn't making him stick around."

I wonder if any of the lapdogs from Los Angeles traditional media will ask him with a straight face what are the real reasons for him escaping U$C*? Now you wonder why the Trojans are firing at each other and lashing out at Petey. Something is very wrong with this picture and we sure hope someone in the traditional media gets to the bottom of this.

Pete Carroll will have his last presser in about an hour. Let's make this an open thread.