OJ Mayo Should be Suspended for the Rest of the Year
(Bloomington, Ind.) Have you seen the video of OJ Mayo knocking a referee to the floor? I did just today and not just once or twice. In fact, at this point, I can't even tell you how many times I've looked at it. From the comments I've seen, though, viewers seem to overwhelmingly feel the referee "had it out" for Mayo and overdramatized the incident by flopping to the floor. If you think that, too, you're dead wrong. Here's why:
1. Compare Mayo's stride as he walks towards the official with the steps he takes as he's leaving the court after being ejected. While advancing on the ref, his stride is longer and quicker and, with his upper torso leaning forward, he is moving with more force and purpose than what he is as he exits the court.
2. Notice the angle that Mayo is walking. He is bearing straight down on the official as opposed to coming at a wider angle to head him off and intercept him. He's clearly looking to make contact.
3. Look closely at Mayo's last step with his right foot as he is about to make contact. He swings it far out to the right in an effort to keep his bearing on making contact.
4. By swinging his right foot out, Mayo turned or opened up his upper body so as to make full contact with his left shoulder, arm and left side of his chest with the referee. Mayo appears to be 4-6 inches taller than the referee so his upper body is higher than that of the official. As a result, the referee's movement post contact is both to the left and downward.
5. Mayo makes contact with enough force that, after striking the official, he, himself, is thrown off balance. In other words, he collides with the ref with such force that once the ref is no longer an impediment to his forward momentum, he lurches forward. That shows he did not slow up. He, in effect, ran through the ref.
6. Now, focus on the referee. He clearly is not anticipating what is coming because he's looking at the scorer's table and signaling with his hands. The contact takes him by surprise.
7. Look at the referee's last steps. Just prior to contact, his right foot has pushed off the floor and his left foot is striking the floor, which means, of course, that he has transferred his body weight on the left side. Thus, the referee's body is already inclined to move left as he is knocked off stride by the contact. That is what sends the referee flying, not flopping.
8. As the referee falls to the floor, he allows his body to go with the motion rather than trying to counter it. That's the smart thing to do in a fall. If you jump from a car, you want your body to go forward with the motion of the car, not backwards and against it. If you jump from a wall, you hit the ground and roll in the direction your fall takes you. It's the same principle.
9. As the referee falls he extends his arms and hands forward, which lead some people to concude he took a "dive." Wrong again. Extending your upper extremities as you fall down is the correct thing to do to avoid landing hard on your body or ####ing your head.
Now, that you've read this, go look at the clip again. Pause it and rewind it at every critical juncture to see if you agree with what I see.
Here's what ticks me off. Mayo hires an attorney and obtains a injunction prohibiting the enforcement of sanctions and then, through his attorney, negotiates a penalty of a three-game suspension. I guess if your name is OJ and you go to USC you can get away with murder--literally and figuratively.
great read...very accurate...this guy is a thug. But I take exception to your last comment. OJ Mayo is not a USC student, he is a high school student. He is a bad #### for sure....but don't you think you should be blaming where he is NOW, rather than where he WILL BE GOING? You are already categorizing him as a "murdering" Trojan when he has not even attended school there yet. If and when he attends USC, his character has already been formed and it's pretty obvious what that character is, don't you think? What does USC have to do with that? Why don't you blame the state of Indiana or his high school?
Last edited by lisa4usc on February 10th at 10:18 AM.
By the way...I just read ur bio...and obviously ur a Hoosiers fan. Great team...one of my friend's sons played there...Joe Hillman.
I cannot believe you mentioned SC and his name as a reason why he is the way he is. Shouldn't you be pointing fingers at the High school in Indiana? Your state screwed up! Obviously, they had a problem with him and he hasn't learned any discipline. But somehow, u are throwing his bad decisions at USC. I find this pretty hypocritical, don't you?
You're exactly right. I wrote a blog on it a week ago and to my utter amazement people actually defended this hoodrat. His whole manner was nothing but "#### thug" on that video.
Don't you think the fact that USC is giving a scholarship to this sniveling little rodent is
reason enough to call into question the moral terpitude of USC's recruiting dept.
disclaimer: I'm not sure I am using the word terpitude in the right context or even if it is spelled correctly. Its just that ever since watching Porkys and hearing it so eloquently spoken by Beula Ballbreaker I've always felt the urge to use it in a sentence. now that I've done it I won't waste any more of your time which is obviously so valuable that you feel compelled to waste a good solid 40 seconds of it reading this mindless drivel. I'm very sorry for all of you.
How can you guys make such harsh comments about someone you do not know? I am from West Virginia, and trust me I have seen the video more than all of you combined (local news media fest). O.J. is not a thug. He's a country boy who returned to his home state for his senior season, and he made a mistake! He got overly aggressive! He did not go toward the referree with the intent to knock him down! He went toward the man in that manner because he was a young man angry over receiving a game ejecting technical foul! Have you ever played sports? Heck, I get mad and act childish if I lose a game of checkers! I do not believe this event should be overlooked, but I do not believe you guys should be ready to hang the boy then compare him to O.J. Simpson! If you don't realize that's different, you need help! Ask the Brown & Goldman families if these events are alike in any way whatsoever!
OJ Mayo is a thug and a gangsta he does not deserve a college scholarship. and should be jailed for his actions. His obvious penchent for violence leaves us no choice other than to lock him up to protect society from this raging lunatic. Plus I heard he listens to rap music.
I am not familiar with this incident Imuncy but I have an opinion. My ex-brother in-law was doing a year in prison for multiple drunk in public offenses. He's harmless as a ####-mouse. One of the rules is to never touch a guard. Well one day they told everyone rec time was over and he bounced the ping pong ball off the ground and it hit a guard, hence he did 30 days in solitary confinement. Touching a ref is no different and being a hot head is no excuse. He sould be given what ever sentence that the games bi-laws state for this infraction and learn to control his anger. That is all.
54...Tim Floyd will not put up with OJ's antics...he's a disciplainarian. He will ride the pine or get kicked off the team. It's that simple. I am just a little puzzled as to how USC can be blamed for his antics right now, that's all. Blame his parents, High School, middle school, I don't care who, but don't place the blame on where he WILL be going! That's such a lame statement.
lol 54...I detect sarcasm...ok....I rode u a little hard..my bad. He deserves a scholarshp for one reason. Here is his "second" chance. You hear about all these bad boys just wanting a second chance...well here it is. If he screws up, he will be a low draft pick. And no one can say he wasn't given a chance. He has no excuses left.
Lisa Lisa, I understand your point and I don't mean to be Clintonesque with semantics, but the statement was "if your name is OJ and you go to USC." OJ Mayo, in fact, will "go to USC." Therein lies the connection.
Mayo's behavior is emblematic, on a significantly less thuggish scale--but nevertheless thuggish--of another USC player named OJ. Coincidental, yes, but one worth mentioning.
Here'what I see out of all this. First I like Lisa and I'm not argueing with her specifically but I as a person would like to see Major Universities not give people like O.J. Mayo "second chances". I think they should have to go to a community college first for two years and then to a major if they have a record such as his. Secondly I'd like to see the NBA set a standard that thugs don't get to go to the NBA prior to proving they can handle the fame. Next I'd like to see the guy who "gets mad at checkers" put off this blog because I am SICK to death of people defending THUGS like Mayo. I played 8 years of basetball and baseball and 12 years of football and never once got thrown out o####ame much less for putting my body on a ref. To support Mayo is to support thuggary in sports. AND I DO NOT.
Finally to say "he came home for his senior year" is LAUGHABLE. He's been in 4 high schools in 4 years. He's a paid high school athelete just like Lebron was or he's the Pope. I don't get you people who will excuse ANYTHING because he's "your boy". He's a THUG PURE AND SIMPLE AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN BANNED FROM HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS FOR THE REMAINDER OF HIS TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL. PERIOD.
Last edited by OutlawZorro on February 11th at 7:50 PM.
He's a punk that needs to learn a lesson early so that this does not carry over to the rest of his life, going and losing your cool and going off on a ref, should mean no more games this year, period.
It didn't appear in the video like he was out to knock the Ref down. Just agitated over the T's and looking for answers. It's unfortunate that the Ref lost his balance and made it look much worse that it really was.
Ed and dusty...I totally see ur points. Im not happy about OJ coming to SC. It's just bad karma, if u get my drift. Let's face it, he can go to any b-ball school in the US and picks SC? Not Duke or UCLA? They obviously smell a rat. It stinks.
Hey dude, if you want me thrown off this blog... you are going to have to be the one doing the throwing! Don't let the wheelchair fool you! And, I know you playing years of sports without being thrown out o####ame is probably your crowning achievement... which is really sad. But, you got to remember... players who ride the bench their entire lives (such as yourself) don't ever have to worry about being thrown out of games!
What is it with USC. Can they get anything but troublemakers. Makes me wonder if they ever covered for Leinhert? Or however in the hell you spell his name.
Don't blame OJ Mayo for feeling like he deserves special treatment. All he's been told is how he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. People have been making exceptions for his behavior because he's really good at putting a ball in a hoop. Now he acts out and we are so ashamed of him and the college game for allowing such atrocious behavior to exist in our sports. Until you folks don't pay all this money to see these kids play and watch high school games on television and so on and so forth, its only going to get worse. Its the nature of the beast, sports run our country, we are zombies to its entertainment value. We say oh my gosh, can you believe USC, they are the devil. Oh let me take out my checkbook, pay for cable, and watch everygame they play. Oh yeah and I can't miss a highlight on ESPN (which USC will surely be a part of).
You guys keep the penalties should have been worse because of OJ's thuggish record. Why else did he do? And there is a good reason why he has played at several high schools. In the State of West Virginia you can only play high school sports if you are in high school. In Kentucky, you can play varsity basketball if you are in middle school if you are good enough. OJ has been starting for varsity basketball sets about the seventh-grade! He could not do that in West Virginia. And he probably wouldn't have came back to Huntington if Bill Walker would have been declared ineligible for his senior season!
I like the article Ed,it paints a vivid picture of the incident,but i think you confused O.J. Mayo with Elijah Holman,an IU recruit who was banned from playing until last week for shoving a referee last season.I dont follow Mayo so i cant say you're wrong for sure,but it adds up based on what i do know.If it was Mayo,then maybe one of us should blog on phenom-referee violence ;) -Jon Norris
I'm glad this blog came up again since in the time between the ref incident and now O.J. Mayo has now been arrested for cruising with the homies smoking weed. I predicted this guy is going the way of Clarret and I can't see anything new to change that view. LOL Guy is a ####. Not that I have anything against weed but ya know, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck? Chances are it's a thug.
so he knocked a ref down. so what. a ref is a man like anyone else. that was also the worst flop in history. he should consult with Dirk to get his style down.
to the #### who wrote this. Get a life. If i had enouth time in my day to try and come up with a scientific explanation as to how someone bumped into someone else then i'd call myself a loser. If you think that the ref didn't take a dive then your smoking something good. While your at it Einstein, explain to all of us why he was given a technical foul for a slam dunk and again for talking back to a player who got in his face(ironically the other guy didn't get a technical). Explain why the ref came up to Huntington's coach before the game and told him that if O.J. said ANYTHING that he was going to throw him out of the game. Explain why he threatened to eject him whil he was trying to huddle his OWN TEAM up for a pep talk before he shot his free throws. You stick to what you saw on film if you want. I WAS AT THE GAME. Get a life ####.
Last edited by reel talk on August 20th at 7:48 AM.
The BYU football team first played UCLA on the gridiron in 1983 with Steve Young at the helm, and they won, decidely. Steve Young. Lavell Edwards. Tough combination.
But since then, the seven games against University of California Los Angeles have ended up differently.
To the tune of 7-0 against the Cougars, in the 1980s and 1990s, including as recently as last September, 27-17. (2007).
Ever since, us Cougars, and me personally, have wanted some payback.
Especially since the night I got home from work in Provo, Utah, to find that BYU team trailing 40-0, at the half! That was 1993, my first year as a transfer student at the "Y".
And then there was last September when I went 5 hours out of my way (one way) to attend the game. And we lost for the seventh straight time!
Writing is like painting or music. It's an art. If you've got a knack for it, it demands you devotion. Ignore it and it will haunt you. Most writers are poor and hungry. Not me--I'm not the guy on the corner with the sign that states "Will Write for Food." Why? I get paid to write. You see, I'm a legal ####. Pay me to take your point of view and, lying or not, I'll make it the gospel. I hate it, but not for that reason. I hate it because its b-o-o-o-ring. It stifles creativity. Reading and writing briefs, decisions, statutes and regulations got me to where I couldn't create gas after a chili supper. I've gotten beyond that to some extent and now I'd much rather be paid to write what I want. I've yet to find someone who can afford me, though. I hate that most of all.
