Floyd allegedly paid for Mayo


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Cashing in? · A former member of Mayo’s inner-circle says Floyd paid a Mayo confidant $1,000 - Joel Zink | Summer Trojan

Cashing in? · A former member of Mayo’s inner-circle says Floyd paid a Mayo confidant $1,000 - Joel Zink | Summer Trojan

A former member of O.J. Mayo’s inner circle claimed that USC men’s basketball coach Tim Floyd directly paid at least $1,000 in cash to Mayo’s closest confidant, according to a report published by Yahoo! Sports.

If found to be true by the NCAA, the alleged incident would constitute a major violation and could have repercussions for the university in various forms of sanctions.

USC’s basketball and football programs are already under NCAA investigation for allegations stemming from Mayo and former football player Reggie Bush. Last May, Johnson claimed that Rodney Guillory gave Mayo about $30,000 in improper benefits. A former sportswriter, Johnson was once a close confidant of Mayo’s but had a falling out with the player and subsequently came forward with the alleged violations, appearing on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” to break the story.

Officials from USC have declined comment since the story broke.

“As you know, USC can’t comment on any issue that’s the subject of an ongoing NCAA and Pac-10 investigation,” USC general counsel Carol Mauch Amir told Yahoo! Sports.

The latest allegation claims that three months after Mayo had committed to play at USC, Guillory and Johnson met Floyd in Beverly Hills, Calif., before preparing to go to Las Vegas for the NBA’s All-Star Weekend. After Johnson circled the block while Floyd and Guillory met for 15 minutes, Guillory returned to the car with an envelope that showed multiple $100 dollar bills inside and “had ‘substantially’ more than $1,000,” according to the initial report by Yahoo! Sports.

The information about the alleged payment from Guillory to Floyd was not included in Johnson’s interview with “Outside the Lines.”

According to multiple reports, Guillory is under federal investigation for some of his financial dealings tied to Mayo. Guillory also has a history with the NCAA after being found to have given extra benefits to former USC basketball player Jeff Trepagnier and former Fresno State basketball player Tito Maddox.