Louis Johnson, a former close friend of former USC star, OJ Mayo, told ESPN that Mayo received thousands of dollars in cash, clothes and other benefits during High School and his one year in college at USC. Mayo is a projected first round pick in the NBA draft this season but this could potentially hurt him a lot. Accepting money and/or gifts is illegal for student athletes.

Louis Johnson, who was a part of Mayo’s inner circle until recently, said Mayo accepted around $30,000 in cash and gifts during the past four years from Rodney Guillory, a 43-year-old Los Angeles event promoter. In addition to cash, the gifts included a flat-screen television for Mayo’s dorm room, cell phone service, a hotel room, clothes, meals and airline tickets for Mayo’s friends and a relative, according to Johnson, others with knowledge of the gifts and store receipts.

When Mayo was in high school in Ohio and West Virginia, Guillory was receiving monthly payments from the Northern California sports agency Bill Duffy Associates. Johnson said BDA provided Guillory with around $200,000 before Mayo arrived at USC, and that Guillory used most of the money to support his own lifestyle but also gave a portion of it to Mayo.

In exchange for the payments and gifts, Mayo entered into a verbal agreement to allow BDA represent him when he turned pro, Johnson told “Outside the Lines.”

This is nothing new in college sports but it usually doesn’t come out by someone who is close to the player. There must of been a falling out between Mayo and Johnson because I can’t see any other reason why he could just come out a rat his former friend out.

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Tags: OJ Mayo, usc