Sports Marketing Exec To Work With NCAA On Reggie Bush Case

Bush Could Lose Heisman Trophy If Accusations Of  Improper Benefits Are True

Former New Era Sports & Entertainment investor Lloyd Lake, who allegedly made improper payments to Saints RB Reggie Bush while Bush attended USC, has “agreed to meet with NCAA investigators and claims to have documentation of financial transactions” between Bush and himself, according to a source cited by David Wharton of the L.A. TIMES. Lake is also “expected to file a civil lawsuit in San Diego this month.” The source said Lake will “seek to recoup money allegedly given to Bush and his family and will ask for punitive damages, claiming [Bush] defrauded him in a deal to launch a sports marketing agency.” If Bush received improper benefits while at USC during the ’04 and ’05 seasons, the school “could be forced to forfeit games” and the program “could face further sanctions if it were proved that coaches or administrators knew or should have known about the alleged benefits.” Bush’s ’05 Heisman Trophy also “could be in jeopardy.” The source said that USC officials “declined to attend a meeting with Lake and NCAA investigators.” Lake’s attorney Brian Watkins, Bush's attorney David Cornwell and an NCAA spokesperson all declined to comment (L.A. TIMES, 10/10).

SETTLEMENT UNSUCCESSFUL: Sources said that Lake and Bush met in June and “attempted to hammer out a settlement, … but that effort apparently was unsuccessful,” and attorneys for the two sides have not spoken since. Watkins refused to confirm that meeting took place. YAHOO SPORTS’ Robinson & Cole noted Bush “angered both Lake and [former New Era Sports & Entertainment investor Michael] Michaels by accusing them of extortion” during an episode of ESPN's “Outside The Lines” that aired September 13. An ESPN source said that the segment aired “despite a threat from Bush’s camp that [he] would halt future cooperation with the network if the interview was not pulled” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/9).