When USC was stripped of the 2004 National Championship, Athletic Director, Pat Haden, was disappointed – but not surprised.
“It wasn’t unexpected,” Haden told ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning. “It’s a complete disappointment and it’s been one thing after another over the last 10 months, but I knew what I was getting myself into.”
Haden knew his job was to look forward and move the USC Athletics Department away from any kind of connection with Reggie Bush or the shadow he cast over the USC Football program. He also mentioned it really started with O.J. Mayo.
“We’ve had to disassociate ourselves with Reggie,” he said. “That was part of the NCAA sanctions with O.J. Mayo, the basketball player and Reggie. … I had one conversation with Reggie months ago but other than that we haven’t had any contact.”
Haden said it just goes to show how important recruiting has become in college athletics.
“The other thing is it just shows you how vigilant we have to be in all our programs around the country because one player or one or two players can really bring a program down,” he said. “We have to continue to try to recruit kids of quality, teach them to do the right thing and then do the right thing.”
Haden also discussed how difficult it can be for a compliance office to track over 100 football players. He called for help from the NFL and NFLPA.
“Coach [Bob] Stoops is right [that it can’t be done] – particularly in a city like Los Angeles,” Haden said. “There’s lot of people trying to whisper in these guys’ ears. And until we get, I think some help from the NFLPA and the NFL themselves, for example rookie salary cap or making guys ineligible to play in the NFL if they put their school on probation — as two examples — this is going to continue to be a difficult thing, monitoring agents. But it is very, very difficult.”
So what to do?
“You try to recruit guys with high character, you continually educate them and you talk about the rules and you talk about the parents, too.”
He added: “Most of our kids, 99 percent of our kids, are doing everything right. For me, I have to constantly remind myself of that fact.”
Pat-you also gotta keep track of the parents of the athletes which as you know is the case with Reggie. His parents were and still are a disgrace. Mommy and stepdad. We USC fans don’t understand but when parents aim to get something because their kids are athletes…it is time to do something…what it is, I’ll never know.
Pat-you also gotta keep track of the parents of the athletes which as you know is the case with Reggie. His parents were and still are a disgrace. Mommy and stepdad. We USC fans don’t understand but when parents aim to get something because their kids are athletes…it is time to do something…what it is, I’ll never know.