O.J. Mayo's Fist Breaks Teammate's Jaw...But It Was an "Accident"

By Trashtalk Superstar


"All World" superstar USC Freshman point guard O.J. Mayo "accidentally" fractured a teammate's jaw in a pick up game last week. Coach Tim Floyd insists that it was an accident - even though he didn't actually witness the incident (coaches aren't allowed any involvement with "pre season" pick up games).

Since Floyd is known as such a stand up guy, there's absolutely no reason to doubt anything that he says.

And since O.J. Mayo is such a great kid, it's unimaginable that he'd punch a teammate.

Tim Floyd's team is probably like one big happy family and O.J. Mayo's arrival has, likely, done nothing but bring that family closer together. After all, he's just such a great kid, dontchaknow!

Riiight.

And those e-mails you get from guys in Nigeria who've just "come into" millions of dollars and are willing to share their windfall with you - if you'll just give them your bank account routing number - are totally legit.

And you really will get rich quick if you sign up for one of those "get rich quick in real estate" seminars.

Tim Floyd might as well try to sell people swampland in Florida. He's about as honest as the typical con artist.

Note the key lines in the story:

..."yeah he punched him," a player said. "They changed the story for the media."

Tim Floyd's attempt to spin this incident is pathetic and absurd.

O.J. Mayo's reputation preceded his arrival at USC. Tim Floyd knew exactly what he was getting when Mayo signed his letter of intent.

The label "thug" is often inappropriately applied to young black athletes who affect a hip hop influenced style. Too many guys are called thugs just because they rock braids and a headband, or because they have tattoos, or because they pop their jerseys, etc.

But O.J. Mayo is a punk and a thug. Not because of his style, but because of his actions. We've mentioned this before (scroll down - it's midway through the post). He's as talented a basketball player as there is in college basketball (when he actually tries), but he's a selfish player - and probably a selfish person - who has caused trouble every where he's been (and he's been around: he went to like five or six different high schools).

O.J. Mayo = trouble.

Period.

Mayo will only be in college for one season. And he'll probably put up some huge numbers and get lots of media love. But he'll ultimately cost USC some important games because of his selfish play and because of the internal dissension that he'll - no doubt - cause on his team. Then USC will flame out in the NCAA Tournament even though Mayo will probably drop thirty on some low seeded directional school.

In June, O.J. Mayo will be a top five pick in the NBA draft. He'll go on to be a cancer on his team, which will be built around him. Eventually, he'll be traded to another team. He'll be a cancer there too. And he'll get into trouble along the way.

He'll get coaches fired. Then he'll be traded again. And again. And again. Just like Isiah Rider, Stephon Marbury, Stephen Jackson, Steve Francis, etc.

At some point, Tim Floyd may end up being O.J. Mayo's coach in the NBA. Floyd gets into trouble (or, more accurately, gets college basketball programs into trouble) and bounces from team to team too. He usually stays in a coaching job for a maximum of three to four years. When his shady practices landed his Iowa State program on NCAA-imposed probation, he just picked up and left for the greener pastures of the NBA (thanks to his schmoozing skills: remember, it was Floyd's "close friendship" with then-Chicago Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause - Floyd allegedly befriended the practically friendless Krause in order to lobby for the Bulls' coaching position - that led the Bulls to run Phil Jackson off [which hastened the retirement of Michael Jordan and the breakup of a 6 time NBA Championship dynasty] so that they could hire Floyd, who at the time was a controversial and only relatively successful college head coach). When he bombed out with the Chicago Bulls, he picked up with the New Orleans Hornets (thanks to more alleged schmoozing). When he bombed out in New Orleans, he bounced to USC.

Ultimately, the controversial and oft-travelled O.J. Mayo may be a perfect fit for the controversial and oft-travelled Tim Floyd's upstart, renegade USC program.

In other words, these two asshats deserve each other.

By the way, is it me, or does it seem like trouble just finds current and former USC athletes named O.J.?