LaMar Griffin didn't play college football at U.S.C. He didn't even attend U.S.C. However, LaMar Griffin is one of the main reasons the U.S.C. Trojans are sitting on probation with a two-year bowl ban and a loss of 30 football scholarships.
Who is LaMar Griffin? Reggie Bush's stepfather.
It's been well documented by now that Reggie's stepfather and mother, Denise Griffin lived in a house in San Diego registered to a 'wanna-be' sports marketer and agent. This was one of many red flags to anybody interested in bringing down the U.S.C. football program (namely Yahoo!Sports, the NCAA, the UCLA Bruin mascot etc...).
Flash forward to 2010. Cecil Newton is the man's name. Father to Cam Newton is his game. Reports and allegations have been all over the news the past week claiming Cecil Newton along with another 'wanna-be' agent began to market the services of his son to various schools in the SEC Conference.
Is it just me or is the common theme in these two stories, poor parental values? I understand not everyone is raised in the perfect environment. However, even when the economic or social climate is not favorable, the one thing these kids should be able to lean on in hard times is parental guidance and morals from a mother, a father, a step dad or a grandmother.
Cam Newton and Reggie Bush are elite athletes. Unfortunately with elite status comes attention and dollar signs. All of a sudden you become more than just a football player, you become a commodity. A revenue producer. You now have leverage. The question is what do you do with that leverage? There are plenty of schools and agents that have a promise and a plan. So what is an 18 to 22 year old to do now? Logic would dictate that you turn to your parents for moral support and guidance. "Moral?" Sounds rather ironic in these two cases.
How would things be different if Lamar Griffin and Denise Griffin had just said to Reggie, "son, I don't think we should take this man's money. I think as a family we can wait until you declare for the NFL. What's another 12 months?" Or how about, "Reggie, this isn't right. You are putting the USC program in jeopardy if wind of these payments get out." Where was the voice of reason on Reggie's right shoulder, while the devil had his ear on the left?
The same could be said for Cam Newton's father. Cecil Newton could have squashed all these potential problems with five simple words, "We Aren't Interested In Money."
Whether you are a student-athlete, a Heisman candidate or just a regular kid taking classes on campus, you arrive day one with the morals instilled from your home life. Reggie Bush and Cam Newton became larger than life stars. They became targets by people looking to make money off their success. It's just sad that those people were their parents...
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