Judge rules Reggie Bush must pay Lloyd Lake $1.4 million in defamation case
Former USC running back Reggie Bush must pay Lloyd Lake, the man accused of paying Bush and his family during his career with the Trojans in violation of NCAA rules, after Lake filed a defamation lawsuit against the former Trojan. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Lloyd Lake, the San Diego man at the center of the Reggie Bush extra benefits saga, scored a major legal victory this week over the former USC running back after a Van Nuys judge upheld an arbitrator's decision to award Lake nearly $1.4 million in his defamation suit against Bush.
Lake filed the suit against Bush back in February 2023 — along with his parents, Roy and Barbara Gunner — alleging that Bush publicly disparaged and defamed him during a podcast appearance and in social media posts and, as such, violated the non-disparagement clause they agreed upon in a previous settlement. The comments, according to Lake and his parents' complaint, 'created a firestorm of vitriol' that saw the Gunner home vandalized with graffiti and left them fearing for their safety.
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The judge's decision this week came more than 15 years after the first explosive lawsuit between the two men was settled. That suit, which Lake first filed in 2007, claimed that he and another businessman, Michael Michaels, had provided Bush and his family with cash, a car, rent-free use of a house and other gifts while he played at USC in 2004 and 2005 with the expectation Bush would sign with Lake and his fledgling sports management company, New Era Sports & Entertainment.
The first case was settled in April 2010, just before Bush and Michaels were scheduled to be deposed. But Lake's account of their arrangement, which violated NCAA rules, had already prompted a firestorm, one that ultimately ended in severe sanctions for USC's football program, the vacating of the Trojans' 2004 national title and the return of Bush's Heisman Trophy.
Read more: Reggie Bush and USC get Heisman Trophy back 14 years after it was forfeited
As college athletes were allowed to receive compensation for use of their name, image and likeness and public opinion began shifting toward Bush, the legendary Trojan running back began sharing more about his experience and the saga that would come to define him. In an appearance on the 'I Am Athlete' podcast, Bush opened up about the emotional toll the case and losing his Heisman Trophy took on him and his family. Bush eventually succeeded in having the Heisman returned to him in 2024.
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Neither of the two men had spoken publicly about the other in more than a decade, abiding by the non-disparagement agreement in their 2010 settlement. At the time of that agreement, all parties involved — including Bush's mother and stepfather — agreed to "not make any statements or representations to any person that may cast another Party to this Agreement in an unfavorable light, that are offensive to or disparage them, or that could adversely affect their name and reputation."
But during the 2022 podcast interview, Bush went on to accuse Lake of blackmail and exaggerate Lake's criminal record, which he said was 'as long as the Cheesecake Factory menu.' Months later, in a Twitter post, Bush falsely accused Lake of being a convicted rapist.
The same week the podcast was published, the Gunners' home was vandalized with graffiti. The threatening message left behind, written in red spray paint on an outside wall, read: 'Help Reggie Bush Get His Trophy Back F— Crook.' The number '187' was also spray painted on the wall, which the plaintiff attorneys say referred to the state Penal Code number for murder. They blamed the graffiti on 'unknown bad actors' working 'on behalf of or at the direction of Bush.'
Read more: An interview with the man jurors in McNair vs. NCAA wanted to hear from: Lloyd Lake
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Lake's attorneys first sought to bring the case to a jury trial. But a judge ruled in June 2024, that Lake's lawsuit against Bush would go to binding, confidential arbitration, per the terms of their original settlement.
The arbitrator in the case, Jeffrey G. Benz, ultimately ruled in Lake's favor, awarding him $500,000, as well as $764,640 in attorneys' fees and $116,780 in other costs, according to court documents. Still, Bush's attorneys continued to challenge the ruling by arguing that Benz had exceeded his authority as the arbitrator.
Their latest challenge was quashed this week by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Eric Harmon, who took only a few hours to reaffirm the arbitrator's decision.
But Bush and his legal team succeeded, in one respect: Bush's responses to Lake's petition, as well as other supporting exhibits and documents pertaining to Bush's side of the case, remain under seal or heavily redacted.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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