While we have been soaking in the successes of out athletic programs, the program full of (alleged) criminals across town continue to be haunted by the (alleged) cheating and scandals of its shady superstars.
Reggie Bush is still out there shameless prancing around making a fool out of himself (just like other Trojie Heisman clowns and social pariahs) and basically daring the (weak and gutless) investigative arms of the NCAA and the conference to get him. SI.com’s Michael Silver penned a pretty interesting article last week writing about how the Bush gate hasn’t gone away and how the smell from this huge scandal is stinking up the NFL, the NCAA and of course Southern Cal. But apparently there is some movement as the Pac-10 now has a new official who may be looking into the stain Reggie left back in South Central:
"This case is a long, long way from being over," Barker said. "There is a lot of information being gathered that I can't speak about. We've had some interesting things happen in the last two weeks that have put some new life into this."
Barker has been involved with plenty of investigations, but even he is stunned at what has transpired in this case.
"This is the first time I've encountered anything like this, where all parties -- even those who've turned against each other -- have not cooperated with an investigation," Barker said. "I've never had a problem getting the information in the past."
Silver goes on to write how the audacity and hubris of Bush (the football player, I know brought up Gonzo) and the supporting officials around him (both from his days in South Central and his current handlers) is making the NCAA look weak, pathetic, and irrelevant:
Putting aside morality, here's what's at stake: If a student-athlete and his parents can get away with, according to the Yahoo! report, receiving well over $300,000 worth of financial inducements, those of us getting wrapped up in the games on Saturday will have a very hard time buying into the notion of competitive balance.
The NCAA is supposed to be able to regulate such seemingly egregious flouting of its bylaws, yet lacking subpoena power (as its officials unfailingly remind us) and unable to impact a former collegian like Bush's eligibility, the organization seems soft.
If this is true, then here's essentially what went down: Bush got paid, skipped to the NFL and then seemingly bought the silence of one of the men who could indict him. And while Michaels' ex-partner, Lloyd Lake, is reportedly preparing a possible civil suit against Bush, there's no reason the well-off running back couldn't negotiate a similar settlement with him, too.
To Barker, a settlement with Lake would theoretically remove the reservations cited by Bush's attorney when explaining why his client wouldn't agree to be interviewed by investigators. "I understand his reasons for not talking," Barker said. "There is a threat of civil lawsuits. But if a (second) settlement comes, I'd like to see the reasoning for continuing not to talk."
At the end of the day, there doesn't seem to be much hope that anything will come from this investigation. Since nobody is talking and the conference and the NCAA don't seem highly motivated to push it forward, I think we'll never see a satisfying resolution. It is sad too, because Bush is basically making a mockery of the NCAA. What we've learned from this is that a player can receive illegal benefits and as long as nobody finds out about it until after he leaves school then he can get away with it.
And people wonder why we hold the (alleged) corrupt football program from cross town and its delusional (see no evil, hear no evil) apologists in so much contempt.
GO BRUINS.