Court rules Reggie Bush must pay Lloyd Lake $1.4 million in defamation lawsuit
On Friday, a judge ruled in favor of sports agent Lloyd Lake in a defamation lawsuit against former USC star running back Reggie Bush. Per the judge's ruling, Bush must pay Lake $1.4 million.
Lake, of course, was the agent at the center of Bush's improper benefits scandal that lives in USC infamy. As a result of the scandal, the Trojans were handed a two-year postseason ban and lost 30 scholarships over the course of three seasons.
Following the news, Los Angeles Times USC beat writer Ryan Kartje offered more details:
'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,' Kartje wrote. '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.
'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.'
Somehow, there is still new news in this case more than 15 years after USC received its original NCAA sanctions, and nearly 20 years after Bush last suited up for the Trojans. USC fans are certainly hoping that this ruling can bring closure, and that all parties can finally put the scandal behind them.
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