Four Trojans Suspended for Trading In Free Shoes

Four starting football players at USC were suspended for one game for trading school-issued football shoes for clothing at a Nike store, the university announced on Monday afternoon.

Defensive tackle Darrell Russell, linebacker Sammy Knight, safety Brian Kelly and wide receiver Larry Parker will sit out Saturday’s game against California.

All four admitted to Coach John Robinson and Athletic Director Mike Garrett that they’d traded in their USC-issued Nike shoes for store credits they used to acquire other Nike clothing, a violation of the NCAA’s extra-benefits rule.

It is only the latest in a series of missteps by USC players.

In the last year:

--Tailback Shawn Walters’ one-year suspension for accepting money and favors from an agent is still an open case. He was given an extra one-game suspension when new charges surfaced two weeks ago.

--Last season, Errick Herrin was suspended five games for receiving $860 from agent recruiters and Israel Ifeanyi was suspended four games for accepting money from both agents and fellow Nigerians.

--Tailback Delon Washington was suspended for most of the 1994 season when his college board score was challenged, and again for three games this season when he was said to have giving untruthful answers in an investigation into a USC class.

Said Robinson during Monday’s practice: “Mike Garrett and I confronted them Saturday with what we’d heard, and they admitted it. What they did was wrong, in context with their responsibilities to this football team. It was also dumb. . . . They should have known better.”

Said Garrett, in a brief USC news release: “We view violating the NCAA’s ‘extra-benefits’ rule as a serious incident. These players have been suspended and required to make restitution. We are self-reporting this violation to the NCAA and then will petition the NCAA for restoration of their eligibility.”

Russell, a preseason junior All-American, said he wasn’t aware the shoe swap was an NCAA violation, but accepted responsibility for it.

“Originally, I wanted to trade my SC shoes for a Barry Sanders-model turf shoe, but then I heard SC was going to get some for us. So instead I traded the shoes in for some hiking boots and a hat.

“I’m disappointed in myself, but I take responsibility for it. I took something given to me by my university and tried to use it to my advantage. It focuses the microscope on my school.”

Kelly, a junior free safety, said he swapped his USC shoes for the Sanders turf shoes, and paid $40 to make up the difference for the more expensive shoe. A football-shoe-for-football-shoe swap would not have been a violation, according to USC officials.

But Kelly said he went back to Nike Town Los Angeles in Beverly Hills and traded in the new shoes for clothing, using a $55 store credit.

How was it all reported?

“I heard someone from Nike Town called SC,” Kelly said.

Added Kelly: “I didn’t know it was a violation. If I had, I wouldn’t have given them my name, phone number and address on the exchange slip.”