MAYO K.O.

Flakes on a Plane:  Turbulent former trojan O.J. Mayo gets pummelled by a teammate, in flight, after refusing to pay off a gambling debt

The first O.J. couldn’t fess up.  Now the second one couldn’t PONY up?

Once again, an ex-trojan named O.J. has proven that people who lack brains often resort to violence when things don’t go their way.  Intelligent people talk things out, and diffuse conflict with reason;  Trojans just turn to murdering their women, kidnapping their friends at gunpoint, and trying to punch out their teammates.

The Memphis Grizzlies have now BANNED gambling from their team flights, after O.J. Mayo started a fight on the team’s charter jet with fellow Grizzly Tony Allen, over a dispute about a card game.  Apparently, Mayo was the loser (nothing new for him) of a game of cards with Allen, and when Allen requested that Mayo pay up, O.J. became belligerent, forcing a violent confrontation at 20,000 feet, that had to be broken up by several intervening Grizzlies.

The report is that Mayo was the one who escalated the situation, and that Mayo was the one who got the worst of the fracas.  Supposedly, Mayo’s face was still all swollen the next day.  In fact, Mayo SAT OUT Memphis’ game that night, although the team listed “bronchitis” as the cause of Mayo’s absence from the line-up.

The fact that millionaire Mayo’s greed and inability to part with a few bucks were the root of the problem shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.  This is the same guy who got busted at u$c for allegedly accepting an envelope with $1000 cash from disgraced and ousted Head Coach Tim Floyd.  Mayo is also the same guy who got caught with a credit card that was tied to a fraudulent “charity,”  and he reportedly used that plastic to buy fancy clothes, a widescreen TV, and other miscellaneous bling, purchases that were all in violation of NCAA rules.  And u$c initially signed Mayo after he was already under suspicion of receiving illegal benefits — not to mention buying Pot — while he was pretending to go to high school.

The trojans were already on double-secret probation because of their affilitation with Mayo and his entourage, as well as for trying to cover up all these nefarious dealings, but that didn’t slow down Mayo’s ascension to the NBA’s Millionaire’s Club.  Obviously, character is not a prerequisite for Pro ballin’.  And Mayo will certainly survive this and continue to be a weathy fan favorite… but it might not happen IN Memphis.  After trading Kevin Love — now the League’s leading Rebounder, by far — for fellow Lottery pick Mayo, the Grizzlies have not been pleased with O.J.’s development.  They recently relegated Mayo to the bench, after he was a disappointment as a starter, and even more recently, they have been shopping him around as trade-bait. And knowing Jerry Buss’ love for the trOJans (where do you think that $1000 originated?), it would not be surprising to see Mayo wind up on the Lakers, with L.A. sending Bruin Matt Barnes or maybe Shannon Brown to Memphis.  Yes, I know that Mayo’s a Guard and Barnes is a Power Forward, but they COULD both be part of a multi-player deal.  If a trade DOES come to pass, I hope Mayo’s next altercation is with Ron Artest.  Then Mayo’s face will be swollen once again, along with his salary, and his opinion of himself.

You would think that Mayo would be ecstatic to be getting shipped out of Memphis, since he is now a bench-warmer for a last-place team.  But maybe that happiness is being displaced by the recent news about Mayo’s Dad, who is currently facing Murder and Drug Dealing charges after trying to kill a Police Officer with his car.  It suddenly becomes understandable why O.J. might be extraordinarily volatile, considering the kind of stress that his whole family must be experiencing right now.  Let’s just hope that he doesn’t bring all that baggage to the Lakers.  Just like with Gary Payton about 7 years ago, it would be a sure chemistry-killer, for a suddenly-struggling team that is already suffering through some locker-room dissension, with Pau Gasol complaining about a lack of touches, Kobe complaining about team effort, and Artest complaining about Phil Jackson berating him in front of his teammates.  These Lakers can’t afford uber-selfish O.J. Mayo — They’d be better off signing Tony Robbins.

At least Mayo didn’t pull a gun on Allen, like O.J. Simpson did on his buddies in the stolen memorabilia case, and like ex-Arizona Wildcat Gilbert Arenas and his Wizard teammate did on each other, after THEIR gambling dispute.  Instead, Mayo followed the lead of the LAST set of trojans to get into it over one stiffing another on monies owed — Remember when Steve Smith punched Dominique Byrd in the jaw after a wager on a game of video football?  The trojans may be on Probation, but they still lead the Nation in idiotic, physical fights over money.  I guess it’s too much to expect an ex-trojan to straighten up and “fly right.”   

Comments

2 responses to “MAYO K.O.”

  1. SVCATOSCMO Avatar
    SVCATOSCMO

    To Jerry Buss –

    Bruins who have helped your franchise win multiple championships – Kareem, Silk, Farmar (plus others on 1 championship team)

    Augsburg College graduates – Devean George

    sc trojans – as many as CSUN Matadors

  2. JosephineBruin Avatar
    JosephineBruin

    brilliant!