Dillon Baxter, RB and Agents....multiple current players. Agent "parties"
Apparently this kid asked for a ride on a
golf cart on campus with a couple of students. One of those students happens to be a certified NFLPA agent. This kid routinely gives rides between buildings to kids who aren't athletes. I understand the problem with agents and all right now. However, this agent happens to also be a student at the school. I think that changes the dynamic with this a little. And, seriously, a golf cart ride?
Here is the story from ESPN:
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Southern California freshman tailback Dillon Baxter has been ruled ineligible to compete for the Trojans because he solicited a ride in a golf cart on USC's campus from an NFLPA-certified agent Thursday in violation of NCAA rules concerning extra benefits, school officials confirmed Saturday.
USC self-reported the infraction and also filed an official request with the NCAA for Baxter's reinstatement. As part of the request, USC put a nominal value on the golf cart ride that Baxter would have to repay, likely to a charity, USC vice president for athletic compliance David Roberts said.
"We're hoping that that this is going to be the end of it and the NCAA will understand that we acted proactively and quickly," Roberts said. "Obviously we'll take further action in this coming week to make sure that there are no other contacts between these people and our players."
The agent, Teague Egan, is the CEO of First Round Enterprises, a company that represents multiple recording artists and lists itself as a provider of sports representation. Egan is also currently a student at USC, according to official school records. His biography on the agency's website includes a claim that he has "befriended many athletes on the USC football team."
"As an contract advisor, I have never ever given a player money, anything of monetary value, or extra benefit not afforded to other students or my friends," Egan wrote in a statement to ESPNLosAngeles.com Saturday night. "We did not mean or intend to break any rules, and are truly sorry this instance got blown out of proportion."
Egan added: "To me, a golf cart ride wasn't an extra benefit, since I give 15-20 rides a day to all my friends to and from class," Egan said. "The question is would they consider riding on the handle bars of a bicycle against the rules? Say we all wanted to go to the movies together, would we have to take separate cars, and the player ride by himself? ... I wouldn't even buy a players ticket to that movie. But a ride?"
Egan also said he plans on "fully cooperating with USC on any issue they might have."
Former Trojans linebacker Jordan Campbell, the first USC player to defect post-sanctions when he transferred to Louisville in June, is listed as a partner on the agency's official site. Longtime NFL agent and current USC adjunct professor of law Fred Fenster is also listed as the legal senior adviser for the company.
Campbell and Fenster did not immediately return phone calls and messages left for them Saturday afternoon.
Speaking to reporters in the Reser Stadium press box before Saturday's USC-Oregon State game, Roberts said USC has notified both the NCAA and Louisville of Campbell's involvement with the company.
"That's not per se our issue because he's no longer a student with us, but we're aware of the facts," Roberts said. "As we look into this, that'll be an issue to be considered."
Baxter did not practice Thursday after being hospitalized earlier in the day with an unspecified illness and dehydration. He entered the practice field roughly a half-hour before the session ended and appeared groggy.
USC coach Lane Kiffin said then he was hopeful Baxter would play against the Beavers.
Also present on the practice field Thursday was Roberts, who rarely attends practice. He spoke to Kiffin on the field during the two-hour session and continued to observe happenings as the team practiced.
"Obviously we take this very serious," Kiffin said Friday in a video released on the school's website. "We talked to Dillon and Dillon didn't know that [the student was an agent], but we turned it in to the NCAA and, in the meantime, he won't be going with us."
Baxter, a top recruit out of Mission Bay High in San Diego, has already missed two games this season. He was suspended for the opener against Hawaii and missed the Cal game last month with a turf toe injury.
Attempts to reach Baxter were not returned.
USC was put under significant NCAA sanctions during the summer after a four-year investigation into the athletic department. The NCAA punished the Trojans for extra benefits allegedly provided to Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Reggie Bush by two aspiring sports marketers.
USC (7-3, 4-3 Pac-10) is in the first season of a two-year bowl ban and four years of probation. The football program also lost 30 scholarships over the next three years.
Despite the sanctions and subsequent loss of several backup players who were allowed to transfer without losing a season of eligibility, USC is tied for third in the conference standings with three wins in its past four games. After traveling to Oregon State, the Trojans will finish their 13-game season against Notre Dame and UCLA.
Baxter is the Trojans' third-leading rusher with 248 yards and one touchdown, starting one game and emerging as Marc Tyler's primary backup. Baxter also has 11 receptions for 73 yards.
Pedro Moura is co-author of the USC blog on ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Don't get me wrong here; I don't like USC and I certainly don't like Kiffin. But seriously?
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