The Reggie Bush Situation

[PhillyPhreak54]

Have any of y'all seen this stuff that breaking out about Reggie Bush's family living in a 3/4 of a million dollar house in San Diego that was bought for by an Indian Tribe? Apparently a member of the tribe was trying to use an agent to get Bush as a client so that he could get involved with Bush.

PFT.com mentioned it about a week or so ago. Florio caught wind of it from one of his sources but did not reveal the name of the player. But Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports broke the story out in the open today and now the AP has picked it up too.

This could get ugly...

This is the first mention of it by PFT.com on April 15th:

POSTED 9:24 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 11:16 p.m. EDT, April 15, 2006

INDIAN RESERVATION LOOKING TO SCALP A FIRST-ROUNDER?

There's a rumor running rampant through agent circles regarding a first-round prospect in the NFL draft who is getting the screws put to him by, of all things, an Indian reservation.

We've heard from multiple agents that an Indian reservation hoping to start a sports agency bought the prospect's parents a house and began to make payments on it.  Once the prospect signed with a different agent, the Indians stopped making payments -- and are now threatening to go public.

We've also heard that said prospect has hired a lawyer to deal with the situation.

For now, the player will remain nameless in this space, since we don't know whether it's a wild rumor or whether it's true.  We'll leave it to the real journalists out there to run with this one.  You know, the guys with real resources and real legal departments and real insurance policies to cover real lawsuits.

Although the folks who made the improper payments would face no NFLPA-imposed discipline since they weren't licensed agents, there could be criminal liability under applicable state law.  But the ability to exact revenge on the prospect by disclosing the payments in the days leading up to the draft might justify any consequences the Indians could face.

For the prospect in question, the news -- if true -- is highly unlikely to affect his draft stock.  But it could possibly diminish his marketability in off-field pursuits, especially if the payments from the Indian reservation spark a broader inquiry that yields evidence of more extensive payments to the player.

We likely won't say anything more about this one, publicly or privately, until someone else reports on it.  And if we learn that the rumor is unfounded, we'll post that information here, too.

And the story from today:

POSTED 5:04 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2006

BUSH FAMILY WAS THE BENEFICIARY OF INDIAN GIVER

Kudos to Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports for being the first to report that USC tailback Reggie Bush is the previously unnamed first-round prospect whose family had been living (free of charge, apparently) in a house paid for by a budding agent from an Indian tribe.

Robinson reports that Bush's family abruptly packed up and moved out of the San Diego home within 24 hours after Yahoo! Sports started asking Bush's mother, Denise Griffin, questions about information linking the house to Michael Michaels, who allegedly has a role in steering Bush toward an agent.

Per Robinson, Michaels is a member of the Sycuan Indian Tribe and a business development officer for the tribe's development corporation.  He failed to return multiple calls from Robinson, and claimed to be unavailable when Robinson dropped by his home on three occasions this weekend.

The Sycuan tribe denied any knowledge of Michaels' relationship with the Bush family.  The tribe owns a casino and a resort.

Robinson reports that Michaels bought the house in which Bush's family had been living for $757,000 in March 2005.  Neighbors told Yahoo! Sports that the Griffins (Bush's stepfather, mother, and brother -- not Peter, Meg, Stewie, etc.) moved in at about that same time.  Michaels is the only person listed on the deed, even though an inscription on one of the cement slabs reads "The Griffins '05."

Michaels and an associate named Lloyd Lake reportedly contacted San Diego-based agent David Caravantes regarding the possibility of recruiting Bush.  Michaels was looking for an NFLPA-certified agent to handle the football contracts of players that Michaels intended to sign to his marketing firm, which Michaels reportedly planned to launch under the name of "New Era Sports and Entertainment."

Robinson found a potential web site for New Era Sports.  Our tech guy Sean has determined via his own Internet sleuthing techniques that the domain was created on November 2, 2005, and that the administrative contact is James Choe of New Era Sports & Entertainment, located at 550 Park Blvd, #27, San Diego, (619) 708-8399.  Sean also found a myspace.com profile of a kid from Nebraska who claims that he'll be working for "New Era Sports & Entertainment" in La Jolla, California in May 2006, another myspace profile of a guy who claims to be the "Director of Recruitment" for "New Era Sports Marketing & Entertainment" in San Diego, and the cache of a third myspace profile of a guy known as "Haterproof Homey," who lists "New Era Sports & Entertainment" as one of his "companies."

Finally, Sean found reference to "New Era Sports & Entertainment" as the agency for South Carolina offensive lineman Jabari Levey.  

The contact agent?  David Caravantes.

Bottom line -- Robinson's report seems to be right on the money.

So what does all of this mean?  Not much for Bush.  He'll still be drafted where he otherwise would have been drafted.  And he'll still likely earn as much money via endorsements as he otherwise would have earned -- unless, of course, the free lodging for his family is merely the tip of a bigger iceberg that expands into a major national story.

Regardless of how it might affect Bush, this whole thing could get very interesting for the folks at Southern Cal.  Since the Griffins apparently were living in the house during the 2005 season, the NCAA could eventually rule that Bush was ineligible -- and likewise could require the Trojans to forfeit all of their 2005 victories.  Though we doubt for now that such an extreme outcome will result, Robinson reports that USC has referred the matter to the Pac-10 for an investigation.

Our own take on the whole thing is that it was stupid and/or arrogant for the Griffins to think that they could squat in the house bought by Michaels without giving anything to Michaels in return, and without the matter ever coming to light.  We've heard that, for the past two months or so, Michaels had been trying to get his money back for the house and/or threatening to take the whole thing public.  So why didn't the Griffins get the hell out of the house long before someone showed up and started asking questions?

More importantly, why did they accept free lodging from Michaels in the first place?  Did they have no appreciation of the problems it could cause for Bush and the Trojans?    

And why wouldn't USC be keeping closer watch on the activities of the family members of the players most likely to be targets for benefits from agents and marketing companies?

Stay tuned for more on this one.

[PhillyPhreak54]

POSTED 10:58 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2006

IF REGGIE IS INELIGIBLE, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE HEISMAN?

A great question that several readers have raised in the wake of the jarring revelation that the family of former USC tailback Reggie Bush apparently was living for free in a house owned by a guy who wanted to handle Reggie's marketing work is what happens to Bush's Heisman trophy if the NCAA ultimately finds that Reggie was ineligible for the 2005 season?

Our best guess is  that Bush would lose the trophy, and that it would go to Texas quarterback Vince Young, who finished second in the voting.

And though we're not suggesting that Bush eventually will have to turn over the biggest individual prize awarded in college sports, this thing easily could spin out of control -- especially since the Yahoo! Sports story has been picked up by the AP and will get a lot more play on Monday as the national talking heads begin to focus on the story.

It's not exactly the kind of attention that the Bush family was hoping to receive five days before the draft, but none of them should be surprised by the fact that their apparent decision to accept a benefit from someone who wanted to represent Reggie has been exposed.

Meanwhile, look for other journalists with more resources that us to dig deeper into the relationship between the owner of the house, Michael Michaels, and agent David Caravantes.  As we explained earlier on Sunday, it appears that Michaels and Caravantes are working together in the representation of South Carolina tackle Jabari Levey.  Since Caravantes is certified by the NFLPA, he might be hearing (as soon as Monday) from the union regarding his role, if any, in the acquisition of the house.

Also, the fact that Caravantes used to practice with Joel Segal -- who now represents Bush -- could prompt the NFLPA to take a look-see at whether there was any connection between Segal and the house owned by Michaels.

This one is a mess, folks.  And we think it's gonna get a lot messier, quickly.

And the story from Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports.

That home, residents would tell you, was where Reggie Bush's family lived.

That is, until this weekend, when the family abruptly packed up and vacated the residence – less than 24 hours after Yahoo! Sports approached Bush's mother about information linking the property to Michael Michaels, a man who is alleged to have tried to play a role in steering Bush toward an agent and who also has ties to a sports marketing company.

Days before Bush is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, unanswered questions about the residence and how his mother, stepfather and brother came to live in it within the last year have prompted the University of Southern California to refer the matter to the Pacific-10 Conference for an investigation.

Wow.

[MDS]

who cares, theyre still gettin paid on saturday

[SD_Eagle5]

I started to read about this on Yahoo, then I stopped after realizing how little I cared.

[bobbyinlondon]

Unlike some members of the EMB, those that have posted here at least aren't wondering if he's still eligible to be drafted. If he was found to be ineligible, the things that could happen:

1. USC forfeits ALL of their wins in 2005.

2. He MIGHT,  and I do emphasize that word, have his Heisman taken away.

Now, would it affect where he is drafted on Saturday? Doubtful, because an investigation is going to take time and by then, he'll already have his 30M bonus check signed.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

It wouldn't affect his NFL status anyway.  Oh well... give the most talented player to come out of the draft in a decade a chip on his shoulder and more motivation to succeed.  WTG.

[ice grillin you]

yeah why is this a story?

[phattymatty]

his parents lived in a house?  those bastiches.

[mussa]

those frickin indians should be killled for baiting him and his family like that. SCALP THEM!

[MadMarchHare]

This will affect Bush and his payday not at all, IMO.  It could really farg with USC, though.

[Wingspan]

i couldnt care less about this one way or the other...but what happens if they make all of last years games losses? do all the people who lost bets against USC get paid? and do the people who won have to give their money back?

we really should be thinking about the well being of bookies and their clients in this.

[PhillyGirl]

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news?slug=ys-bushprobe&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

An eight-month probe uncovers evidence that Reggie Bush and his family appear to have accepted improper benefits from prospective agents while at USC.

[Diomedes]

Shocking.

[PhillyGirl]

ha, I know

[mussa]

this is going to effect him how? would they take away the heisman?