Former USC player O.J. Mayo denies he accepted improper benefits

O.J. Mayo denied today allegations that he accepted improper benefits from an agent’s representative.

The former star guard of the USC basketball team was interviewed on campus this afternoon following his last final exam.

In his most extensive comments since the allegations surfaced Sunday during an ESPN “Outside the Lines” report, Mayo said he “didn’t accept anything” and would cooperate with an NCAA investigation into accusations that he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in cash and benefits from Los Angeles events promoter Rodney Guillory.

“My family hasn’t accepted anything, so I’m just waiting for the NCAA to do what they have to do to prove that I haven’t done anything wrong,” Mayo said. “I have nothing to hide, so I’m willing to do whatever to hurry the process.”

Guillory reportedly received about $200,000 in cash plus a $50,000 sports utility from Bill Duffy Associates, funneling an estimated $30,000 to Mayo, who recently announced that BDA vice president Calvin Andrews would represent him as a professional.

Duffy told the SportsBusiness Journal on Tuesday night that he had documentation to prove that his agency was innocent of allegations made by Louis Johnson, a former confidant of Mayo and Guillory who supplied ESPN with receipts to buttress his claims that the pair was accepting money from BDA.

Mayo said he didn’t feel betrayed by Johnson but acknowledged that he was “mad at the fact that he said I accepted some money. I have never received any cash from any agencies or anything. The money I’ve got, friends send it from home or my school check.”

Following the interview, Mayo slipped into a red Porsche Cayenne GTS with two friends and drove off, saying he was headed to Chicago for workouts in advance of next month’s NBA draft.

One NBA scout who spoke on condition of anonymity said Mayo’s draft stock would not slip as a result of the allegations and that he would still likely be a top-five pick.

 ben.bolch@latimes.com