More trouble at USC
Thursday, April 27, 2006
I got a call from a friend back in L.A. around 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday night. He just said "Get this: [Mark] Sanchez was arrested today. Sexual assault." I think I said "You're kidding, right? No [bleeping] way," probably four times over the next 90 seconds. That's because Mark Sanchez is the last guy in the USC program I would've expected to make news like this. Literally. The last guy.
I've known Sanchez and his family since his senior year of high school. I'm not sure you can find a kid with a stronger background. He had a 3.7 GPA in high school. His parents are always around -- even at most practices. His dad, Nick, is as square as they come. He's an Orange County fire captain who flew to New Orleans to help with relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina last year. Mark's oldest brother, Nick Jr., is a local lawyer. USC coaches rave about how much more advanced, more polished Sanchez is compared to Matt Leinart at the same stage.
Having said that, I don't know what did or didn't happen, and it is important to note that Sanchez hasn't been charged yet. It's all very early, but obviously this is heavy stuff and now it's already making news.
There is no such thing as an ideal time for something like this to occur, but the spotlight on the USC program won't help. Innocent or guilty, Sanchez's rep will never be the same again. And the same goes for USC football given that this news comes on the heels of the on-going Reggie Bush mess.
It's also worth mentioning that it has been a pretty rocky couple of years for the Trojans off the field. Last offseason, starting cornerback Eric Wright was accused of rape (but never charged) and police found 136 ecstasy pills in his apartment. Wright left the USC program in June of 2004. Freshman LB Rey Maualuga was accused of punching a student at a party last October. (He has not been charged.)
Obviously those other incidents should have no bearing on this story, and honestly, I'd be shocked if this accusation regarding Sanchez turns out to be true. My hunch, though, is that this past week will quickly serve as some sort of referendum on the powerhouse Trojan program.
Throughout the recent rise of USC, we in the media have marveled at the style at which Pete Carroll has run his team. Everything is up tempo. The entire program comes across as being so open. It truly is radically different from any other college program I've been around. Carroll doesn't appear to sweat the small stuff the way many button-up head men do. USC practices are so upbeat, with dozens of family members and friends watching on the sidelines, they seem almost like carnivals. It all seems so, well, cool.
And for the last few years, that image has been celebrated. That's how it works when you're winning championships and things are going great. But when things start to get a little stickier and the buzzards begin to circle, that virtue suddenly appears to be more of a flaw -- as if it's laissez-faire football. People try to connect dots that may not even be dots to explain why all of these bad things supposedly are happening.
Watch how quickly some of that starts to turn. I'm not convinced that any of it's right, but I'm starting to think that's how it will go down.
