COMMENTARY

By Chris Russell

updated 9:20 p.m. ET Aug. 11, 2006

It seemed all too good. The lightning-fast, squeaky-clean (as far as we knew) running back that most, including myself, feel will redefine the way we look at the position.

Now, Reggie Bush has a stain on his resume less than a week away from the day he becomes the next big thing by NFL standards.

It's amazing how this type of thing works out. Just when you think nothing could go wrong, BAM!

For those that have not paid attention, and I won't bore you with all the sordid details, Reggie Bush's family was living in a house in the San Diego area that was purchased a little over a year ago, by a man named Michael Michaels.

You might not think it's a big deal until you realize that Michaels was a marketing agent who was trying to secure the big money representation right to Bush and steer his NFL rights to another San Diego-based NFL agent.

This, as you would guess, is completely against NCAA guidelines, and you can pretty much guarantee one thing in this mess: Reggie Bush, his parents and the agents involved are not going to face the wrath of Myles Brand and his bunch of henchmen.

It's going to be the University of Southern California, in a way that will be determined as time unfolds. As long as USC did not sanction or know about this, it's a crying shame that they would be subjected to NCAA penalty and sanctions because of something that a slimy agent and starry-eyed parents did.

Reggie Bush is not going to feel any ramifications, nor his parents who are already set for the next ten generations of their entire family's existence. The agents are what they are, mostly scum that will prey on any willing soul that they can and then walk away before facing the realities of their behavior.

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I found myself on Sporting News Radio on Monday, defending Bush to some degree even if he knew about it, because it's hard to always resist temptation, in whatever form. I don't conclusively believe that Bush knew about his parents' real estate dealings, because at the age of 20, I had no idea about my parents' business either, never mind how they were moving into a home.

Am I naive? Maybe. This is just the reality of ungodly talented athletes mixed with personal greed. I'm actually surprised this doesn't happen more. There are so many angles that this will develop into.

Should the NCAA put the hammer down on USC? Will Bush lose the Heisman that he should have won twice, instead of just once? Will Bush develop a reputation from here on out, as being a guy who is always in some bit of trouble?

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I think the answer is no on all accounts. Bush earned his individual honors by clearly being the best football player in the country for the last two seasons. I believe Bush will be a relatively good guy at the next level, and I use LeBron James as a point of comparison. Remember all the issues LeBron and his mother had before he was drafted? Since then, not a peep.

Last, but not least. I don't know who should take the "hit" outside of Bush paying some sort of financial reparations or his parents, but USC should not be held responsible for something like this.

Tom Osborne, Bobby Bowden, Dennis Erickson, Joe Paterno and others have never been held responsible for the criminal activities of some of their former players. If it happens on the field, or at a team function -- that's one thing.

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USC cannot be held responsible for what Reggie Bush's parents decided to do, even though it was against NCAA regulations. If you think that they should be punished, then you probably would be in favor of communism returning to the old Soviet Union.

No matter how hard we try (and we do), we cannot regulate student-athletes and their families 24 hours a day, seven days a week. What was USC supposed to do? Investigate the deed to the house, just because one of their football players' families was moving into it?

I don't blame the NCAA for wanting to run a mostly pure ship. Contrary to popular belief, the NCAA gives most of the money that football and basketball generates back to its member schools.

Just please, don't come down on USC because they failed to keep a leash on Bush and his entire family.

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