by Josh Luchs
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
Though I may not like the comparison, in more than one appearance or article I’ve been referred to as “the agent industry’s Jose Canseco.” I’ve blown the whistle loud and clear about the illegal procedure in big-time sports. Has the bad behavior stopped or at least slowed? Or was I exaggerating, making too much of nothing? Or was I an exception, a bad guy in a good business? Here’s a partial list of recent investigations and infractions. You decide.
CASE: REGGIE BUSH, PETE CARROLL, USC, AND THE HEISMAN TROPHY
June 2010: After an examination spanning four years, the NCAA announced sanctions against the University of Southern California for its lack of oversight in the behavior of star running back and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush. Dating to 2004, Bush received gifts from sports marketing agent Lloyd Lake and his partner, Michael Michaels, that, according to Lake, totaled over $290,000. When Bush chose Mike Ornstein as his marketing agent, Lake, the agent spurned, wanted to be repaid. Bush refused, so Lake sued. The matter begged for investigation.
Revealed: Over the years, Bush and his family received lavish gifts, favors, and money, trips, living expenses, credit cards—from both Lake and Ornstein—in a battle of graft to win him as a client. In the view of the NCAA, responsibility for oversight of such relations rests with the school. NCAA Infractions Committee Chair Paul Dee said, “High-profile players merit high-profile enforcement.”
Punishment: USC received four years of probation and had to forfeit its last two wins of the 2004 season, including the 2005 Orange Bowl, plus all wins of the 2005 season. The school was banned from bowl games in 2010 and 2011 and loses thirty scholarships over the next three years. Running backs coach Todd McNair was banned by the NCAA from off-campus player recruiting for a year because he’d been aware of Bush’s arrangement with the agents, and his contract at USC was not renewed. (He has since sued the NCAA.)
July 2010—New USC President Max Nikias announced USC would take down all jerseys and displays that honored Reggie Bush and would return their copy of his Heisman Trophy.
September 2010—The Heisman Committee explored revoking the trophy from Bush, but Bush voluntarily agreed to return it. As of this writing, it has not been returned.
A slew of sanctions, harsh punishments, and justice done. Or did the real culprits escape? If USC is responsible for oversight of high-profile players, who oversees the oversight? The head coach and the school’s compliance department. Pete Carroll was head coach and under his direction, the compliance department had a staff of exactly one person to keep track of the activities of all the school’s athletes. And the compliance department is paid by the school, so their incentive to blow the whistle on their employer is less than compelling. What was the head coach’s punishment in this sordid affair? A five-year, $33-million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, negotiated by his agent, Gary Uberstine. Before USC decided what to do, if anything, to their head coach, he slipped out the back door of his Trojan office and into the front office of an NFL team. Hardly a fall from grace. And his former assistant coach took the fall, receiving an NCAA ban and not having his contract renewed.
If there is any “punishment” it would be Gary Uberstine losing his easy access to Trojan players as Pete Carroll’s agent. While other agents weren’t allowed on campus, if Pete Carroll happened to introduce his own agent to players like Saints left tackle Charles Brown, Browns tight end Jordan Cameron, Panthers wide receiver Keary Colbert, and others, and they happened to sign with his agent, that was no doubt, just coincidence. Now, it seems, Gary Uberstine will have to recruit USC players without a high-placed conduit. Let’s see if he does as well.
Hmm … a case of agents paying players or their families prior to the players’ eligibility. Protests of innocence and ignorance. Last-minute confessions. Selective punishment. Rewards for the perpetrators. Sounds familiar. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The only difference is the amount of money. It’s gotten a lot more expensive to do what I used to do.
CASE: CECIL NEWTON SHOPPING HIS SON CAM, FUTURE HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER, TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER
November 2010: Mississippi State University charged Cecil Newton, father of star quarterback Cam Newton, with shopping his son’s amateur services to various universities for the best monetary offer. It was also alleged that on some occasions, Cam was in the room with his father and potential interested parties/universities. The elder Newton was quoted as saying it would take “more than a scholarship” to get Cam to play at a given school. Later, in a Dallas radio interview, he added that it would take “$100,000 to $180,000” for his son to transfer to MSU.
December 2010: The NCAA issued a statement that Auburn University, where Cam Newton ultimately played, had declared him ineligible after determining his father had solicited schools for money. Finally, outrage and justice?
Not so fast. Auburn immediately filed for Newton’s reinstatement. The NCAA reinstated Newton, saying there was insufficient evidence that Auburn had been aware of the activities of Newton’s father. The NCAA action made Cam Newton eligible to play in the SEC Championship Game which, if Auburn won, would put the team in the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) National Championship Game, the most lucrative college sports event in America. Auburn agreed to restrict Cecil Newton from access to any Auburn athletic activities or games. The NCAA’s action also cleared the way for Cam to be a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, which he ultimately won.
So, his father put him up for auction, with his son allegedly aware and present; they got caught; and the young quarterback was severely punished with … the National Championship, the Heisman Trophy, and a huge rookie contract in the NFL. And by the way, in defiance of the NCAA and Auburn agreement with Cecil Newton, he did attend the BCS Championship.
CASE: GARY WICHARD, CREDIT CARDS, UNC ASSISTANT COACH JOHN BLAKE, AND PLAYER MARVIN AUSTIN
September 2010: Yahoo! Sports reported on an alleged improper financial relationship between my former boss, Gary Wichard, and John Blake, at the time assistant football coach at the University of North Carolina. Yahoo’s work led to investigations by the NCAA and NFLPA. Blake was accused of arranging trips for Marvin Austin, UNC defensive tackle, including visits to a California training facility a stone’s throw from Wichard’s office. Hotel receipts showed the travel was paid for by Pro Tect, Wichard’s agency.
The State of North Carolina and the NCAA investigated based on evidence including: six or more wire transfers from Wichard’s bank to Blake, a personal loan of $45,000 to Blake from the same bank, and a Pro Tect credit card in Blake’s name. Despite past marketing brochures that listed Blake as an employee of Pro Tect, Wichard and Blake denied Blake ever worked for the firm. Both Wichard and Blake denied that Blake was steering players to Wichard’s agency, which is to say, they denied that he was a runner.
The university looked into the matter and the potential impact on the school, its football coach, Butch Davis, and the program itself. The Raleigh News & Observer uncovered a “Termination by University for Cause” clause in Coach Davis’s contract that says he can be dismissed if a violation is committed by one of his assistants and if Davis “had reason to know or should have known through the exercise of due diligence.”
The NFLPA followed with their own investigation, accusing Gary Wichard of breaking their agent–college player regulations. Wichard was represented in the NFLPA review by none other than Howard Silber, the same attorney who had worked for Wichard in getting the NFLPA to suspend me.
John Blake was forced to resign from UNC. Gary Wichard was suspended by the NFLPA for nine months “for having impermissible communication with University of North Carolina player Marvin Austin at a time Austin was not eligible for the NFL draft under the NFL/NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement.” Interestingly, Wichard was not suspended for paying for flights, hotels, and player training, but for this euphemism that sounds like a parking meter violation, “impermissible communicati
on.” Marvin Austin was suspended by the Tar Heels for the LSU–UNC Chick-Filet Kickoff Bowl, with an almost laughable explanation from Coach Davis. “This decision is not a result of the ongoing NCAA review. Marvin has violated team rules and has neglected his responsibilities to the team.”
Coincidence or Pattern?
I had first-hand knowledge of Gary arranging to pay for the training of players when we’d done it for Travis Johnson, a defensive end from Florida State. The details came out in our lawsuit. At first Johnson’s trainer, Joseph Masiello, admitted to having been hired by Wichard, but he later “recanted” that he’d been paid. See the excerpts below from the Sports Business Journal and my note of clarification at the bottom.
PRIVATE TRAINER ACCUSES NFL AGENT
By Liz Mullen, Staff Writer—May 29, 2006
NFL player agent Gary Wichard paid a private trainer to work with Houston Texans defensive tackle Travis Johnson while Johnson was a student athlete at Florida State University, according to a sworn declaration by the trainer. Joseph Masiello, a Malibu, Calif.-based trainer who has worked for Wichard for more than a decade, said that he provided the training while Johnson was a junior in college.
“From April [to] May of 2004, I provided training services to Travis Johnson, a student athlete, at the specific request of Gary Wichard,” Masiello states in the declaration.
In addition to the declaration, the court file contains a bill from Masiello to Wichard’s company, Pro Tect Management, for $1,200. It contains the notation “Travis.”
TRAINER RECANTS STATEMENT ABOUT AGENT
By Liz Mullen, Staff Writer—June 12, 2006
A private athletic trainer has recanted a sworn statement he made last year claiming that NFL player agent Gary Wichard paid him to train a student athlete at Florida State University. Joseph Masiello of Malibu, Calif., states in his new sworn statement that his original statement “contains a number of errors,” and that he “did not have adequate time to review the declaration before executing it.”
… Masiello said in his first statement in August 2005 that Wichard paid him to train defensive tackle Travis Johnson, who now plays for the Houston Texans.
Both of his declarations are part of a lawsuit filed against Wichard’s company, Pro Tect Management, by Joshua Luchs, an NFL player agent and former employee of Wichard who claims he is owed money.
In the original declaration, Masiello stated, “From April [to] May of 2004, I provided training services to Travis Johnson, a student athlete, at the specific request of Gary Wichard.”
… In his new declaration, Masiello states “that the invoice attached to my previous declaration was created in error, and that the invoice was never paid by Gary Wichard or Pro Tect Management.”
Note: Under whatever pressure Wichard’s attorneys may have brought to bear, the trainer contradicted his original claim of having been paid by Pro Tect, and the Sports Business Journal ran the retraction story, but Masiello never denied that he had trained Johnson for Pro Tect (and that, even if not paid, is a violation).
October 2010: As a result of the NCAA investigation, Marvin Austin and two other Tar Heels players, Greg Little and Robert Quinn, were declared permanently ineligible for the team. UNC Athletic Director Dick Baddour referred to it as “a sad day when three young men are no longer able to represent their school based on actions they have taken and decisions they have made contrary to NCAA rules.”
Butch Davis was ultimately fired, Baddour resigned, and the football program sustained a major setback. As for Marvin Austin, despite getting booted from the Tar Heels team, he played in the East-West Shrine Game in January 2011, wearing a UNC helmet. And despite questions about his character, he was drafted in the second round by the Giants.
Gary Wichard died of pancreatic cancer during the period of his suspension by the NFLPA. He likely won’t be remembered for the great players or the good contracts he negotiated but as the first agent who died while serving an NFLPA suspension, facing potential jail time in the state of North Carolina. Unlike me, sadly he would never have the opportunity to rewrite the ending of his story.
CASE: JIM TRESSEL, OHIO STATE MEMORABILIA, AND THE TATTOO PARLOR
April 2010: Ohio State University head coach Jim Tressel (the same Jim Tressel accused by Maurice Clarett in a 2004 ESPN story of flagrant violations) was informed by an e-mail from a former Buckeye player that a local tattoo parlor owned by Eddie Rife had been raided by the FBI and valuable OSU football memorabilia had been found, including championship rings, jerseys, and awards. If such memorabilia is sold or traded for value by players, it is strictly forbidden by NCAA rules. Tressel responded that he’d “get on it ASAP.” He did not inform the head of the athletic department or the president of the university or the school’s compliance department. He forwarded the e-mail to a local businessman with ties to the team.
September 2010: The coach signed the routine compliance form that asks if he has knowledge of any NCAA violations, his signature indicating he had no such knowledge.
December 2010: The U.S. Attorney’s Office notified the university that it had found the memorabilia evidence, which led to an internal inquiry by OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith. That review did not find the e-mails but did uncover the players involved. After conferring with the NCAA and Big Ten officials, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four other players—offensive lineman Mike Adams, running back Daniel “Boom” Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey, and backup defensive lineman Solomon Thomas—were to be suspended for five games. Additionally, Pryor and the others had to repay money or benefits ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 by making contributions to a charity. But their suspension did not begin immediately with the next game on the schedule, which happened to be the prestigious and lucrative nationally televised Sugar Bowl. Instead, their suspension did not take effect until the first five games of the following season.
Tressel was given a two-game suspension and a fine of $250,000. Asked if Tressel’s job was at risk, Ohio State University President Gordon Gee said, “No, are you kidding? Let me be very clear. I’m just hoping the coach doesn’t dismiss me.”
Meantime, the NCAA continued to look into the matter.
April, 2011: The NCAA, in a “notice of allegations,” maintained that Tressel had “permitted football student-athletes to participate in intercollegiate athletics while ineligible,” that he had “failed to deport himself … [with] honesty and integrity” and that he had lied when filling out a compliance form saying he had no knowledge of violations by his players. From that moment on, the athletic department and the university began distancing themselves from Tressel.
Then two significant things occurred in the media: ESPN columnist Pat Forde said enough was enough, that it was time for Tressel to be canned. Forde maintained that if Ohio State had had the guts to fire the winningest coach in their history, Woody Hayes, the day after he punched an opposing player (on national television), then the school should have the backbone to ax Jim Tressel. And Sports Illustrated determined the whole tale hadn’t been told and sent George Dohrmann, the Pulitzer Prize–winning writer who had written the magazine’s piece on me, to Columbus to dig up the rest of the sordid story.
George uncovered a lot of dirt. He not only found evidence of wrong-doing; he seemed to find a pattern. Way back in Tressel’s first tour of duty at Ohio State, as an assistant to Earle Bruce in 1983–85, his image was as a man of integrity and Christian ethics. And contradictions. One of his jobs was to run the Buckeyes’ summer camp, attended by a combination of prospects Ohio State was interested in as well as a bunch of enthusiastic but less talented players. The camp culminated with a raffle in which all the kids bought chances to win cleats and jerseys (team memorabilia, though not as valuable as the kind OSU players would get caught selling). An anonymous associate at the camp said Tressel fixed the raffle so the Buckeye prospects always won the prizes, which was a violation of NCAA rules—not to mention just a lousy thing to do to innocent kids. He s
aid, “In the morning he would read the Bible with another coach. Then, in the afternoon he would go out and cheat kids who had probably saved up money from mowing lawns to buy those raffle tickets.”
Tressel later left Ohio State for Youngstown University, where he engineered a remarkable football turnaround, winning the division championship. Again, he was a man of values, looking out for his players … perhaps too much so. He eventually left Youngstown University under a cloud of accusations that involved a star quarterback getting big sums of money and favors from a rich school trustee. The university and the NCAA insisted they’d looked into the matter and found no knowing misdeeds by Coach Tressel. As he would later with the tattoo-parlor incident, Tressel relied on the “ignorance defense” and his superiors bought it.
He returned to Columbus as head coach in 2001 and over the next decade led the Buckeyes to the third best record in the history of the school, winning Big Ten championships, trips to bowl games, and, most importantly, consistent victories over archrival Michigan. He became an icon who could do no wrong. And even if he did wrong, he seemed to handle it right. When the NCAA and OSU suspended his players for five games and him only two, he asked to have his punishment match the players’. Five-game suspension, fine paid, investigation over, case closed.
But Dohrmann found the investigation was hardly complete, and the punishment hardly up to the crime. He pieced together evidence that showed the memorabilia-market-cum-tattoo-parlor scandal hadn’t just happened in the past year but went back to 2002, OSU’s national championship year, and touched not five, but some twenty-eight players. And the trading of goods for services was hardly on a petty scale. Players had traded rings, trophies, signatures—including at least one item with Tressel’s autograph—not just for garden-variety hundred-dollar tattoos but for “sleeves,” top-to-bottom arm-murals that cost thousands of dollars.