http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm
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.
