USC Football: 10 Most Controversial Trojans Ever
So here it is.
Behold USC's "rogues gallery" of controversial players.
However, not all of the Trojans featured here were of the ignoble sort.
In fact, at least four of these men of Troy were beyond reproach, legends in the annals of USC lore, and simply victims of circumstances far beyond their control.
That is not to say that this list is comprised of angels because the vast majority were indeed villainous, either for misdeeds committed while wearing the cardinal and gold or for despicable events they were held responsible for later.
Still others just made unfortunate decisions and, in doing so, exposed themselves to the venom that accompanies such lapses of judgement.
Regardless of the controversy or how it presented itself, these 10 players, at one point or another, were engulfed in it.
So who are these guys?
Let's find out.
No. 10: Seantrel Henderson
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This is a story of a Trojan who never was.
Seantrel Henderson, the mammoth offensive tackle who many had rated as the top recruit of the 2009 season, had given his verbal commitment to the Trojans after hedging for weeks beyond the national-letter-of-intent signing date.
When he finally signed, it was with knowledge that the Trojans may suffer sanctions from the NCAA related to the Reggie Bush scandal.
Yet when the sanctions finally did come down, Henderson whined about his apparent lack of knowledge that it (the sanctions) would occur.
Despite a cross-country trip by Lane Kiffin to sway Henderson to honor his signature, the big guy was unmoved.
Finally, Kiffin magnanimously released Henderson from his letter of intent and he signed with Miami where he plies his trade to this day.
Last year, Henderson played well and, according to him, only gave up two sacks all season.
Trojans fans hope he enjoys his stay at Miami.
They just wish he would have figured it out sooner.
No. 9: Joe McKnight
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Joe McKnight makes the list for two reasons, one not his fault, the other, well....
First, McKnight makes this list because, though he came to USC as the "next Reggie Bush," he never quite attained that lofty height on the field of play.
Some of McKnight's issues on the gridiron concerned a maddening proclivity to lay the ball on the ground, a no-no that would immediately land any other culprit on the sideline next to then-head coach Pete Carroll.
Unless your name was Joe McKnight.
Time and again, Carroll would trot McKnight out there (especially early in his career) despite an inopportune fumble that helped cost the Trojans the week before.
And though the grumbling was muted, it was there and occupied at least the thoughts of some of its fans.
And then there is the curious saga of the 2007 Land Rover.
Just prior to the 2009 Emerald Bowl, McKnight was seen driving the aforementioned luxury vehicle.
Unfortunately for McKnight, it turned out the car had been paid for by a businessman on behalf of McKnight's girlfriend.
Embroiled in controversy, McKnight was declared ineligible for the bowl and, shortly thereafter, made himself available for the NFL Draft.
Though nothing really came of it, McKnight, whether by his own doing or not, created enough controversy in the wake of the Bush debacle to keep the fires of haters stoked against USC.
And that's good enough to make this list.
No. 8: Mike Williams
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To a large extent, Mike Williams and the controversy that surrounded him was a result of poor council upon which an unfortunate decision was made.
For two years, you see, Williams was an unstoppable force for USC at wide receiver.
In his very first year as a Trojan, he set freshman records by snaring 81 passes which went for 1,265 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Along the way, Williams was named honorable-mention All-American and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.
Then he followed that up with a sophomore season that was even better.
In 2003, he hauled in a sick 91 passes for 1,314 yards and 14 TDs.
This was good enough for him to named first-team All-American, and he was poised to deliver a record-shattering junior season.
Or so it seemed.
Then Ohio State's Maurice Clarett challenged the NCAA's rule that stated players must be three years removed from high school before they could enter the NFL draft.
And when Clarett initially won his case, Williams decided to forgo his junior year at USC and hired an agent to represent him, as he too entered the draft.
Clarett's court victory would be overturned and Williams would be left holding the bag in limbo. He was declared ineligible to return to the Trojans and he was unable to play that year in the NFL.
After sitting out that year, Williams entered the draft and was largely a disappointment.
Now his career seems on the rise after being reunited with his former coach at USC, Pete Carroll, in Seattle.
But in 2004, Williams was a poster boy for controversy to say the least.
Welcome to this list, Mike.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 7: Brice Taylor
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This slide marks the first of those noble Trojans who are listed here not because of what they did, but simply who they were.
In this case, Brice Taylor was USC's first All American (1925), a 5'11", 185-pound dynamo whose prowess as an offensive guard was legendary.
Oh, and he was African American by the way.
Now for those of you who think Los Angeles was the bastion of racial equality, sorry to disappoint you.
No, the City of Angels, though less neanderthal then most places in the mid-20s, still had its share of bozos and it must be assumed that Taylor heard his share of catcalls.
In fact, one of the things that Taylor experienced was that he was an outcast, even in his own city and by many on his team.
Still, Taylor was a Trojan through and through, and he was always proud of his USC heritage.
According to an article written by Chuck Culpepper of Newsday, a former student of Taylor's named Charlie Pye (Taylor became a teacher after leaving USC, as well as a pastor) couldn't figure out why he was so fiercely loyal to the Trojans, saying:
"Yeah, he was a Trojan," Pye said. "I couldn't understand his loyalty to USC because of the way black athletes were just ignored."
So Brice Taylor makes this list of controversial Trojans simply because of the color of his skin.
We, fortunately, are more enlightened now, but it's a damn shame a great Trojan like Brice Taylor was never really appreciated while he was alive.
A damn shame.
Oh, one more thing about Taylor.
He was born without a left hand.
Black and handicapped, playing football with white guys in the 1920s.
Imagine that.
Thank you Mr. Taylor.
No. 6: Todd Marinovich
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Todd Marinovich was born and bred to be a Trojan.
His father, Marv Marinovich, was a two-way lineman for USC who also was a captain on the 1962 national championship team.
When his son Marv (Todd's mother would change his name later) was born, there seemed little doubt where he would wind up if he became a football player.
And Marv senior would see that Todd did indeed become a football player.
One of the original suffocating fathers, Marv hammered young Todd through his youth into a talented quarterback.
So much so that Todd carried the moniker: "Robo Quarterback."
But with that pressure came controversy.
Before he even enrolled at USC, the spotlight was on him for his father's unusual training habits.
After a redshirt season in 1988, Marinovich showed flashes of greatness in 1989 and big things were expected from him in 1990.
However, frequent clashes with then-head coach Larry Smith created ongoing controversy throughout that season, and when Marinovich was caught with cocaine, it marked the end of his brief-and-stormy Trojans career.
Marinovich would go on to much more controversy in both his pro career and personal life, but it all started after he became a Trojan, and for this reason, he is entrenched in this list.
No. 5: Willie Wood
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Most astute football fans know Willie Wood as the Hall of Fame defensive back who made the Pro Bowl eight -years for the NFL juggernauts of the 1960s, Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers.
But before that fame, Willie Wood found his own personal glory as a quarterback for the USC Trojans in the 1959 season.
And not just any quarterback mind you, but the first black quarterback in the Pac-8.
The slow-but-steady matriculation to racial equality was still in its infancy stage in the late 50s, but at least by then, having an African American football player was no longer a singular oddity such as it was when Brice Taylor graced the cardinal and gold in 1925.
Unless, of course, you played the quarterback position.
You see, the prevailing notion at that time went something like this: "Well sure African Americans can play football, just not the QB position, that takes brains!"
Racism was so deeply embedded in that many people that even enlightened individuals of the time would engage in such backward thinking and not even realize how damaging that type of stereotyping truly is.
And don't think Wood didn't hear it. He did. In heaps.
Yet Willie Wood persevered.
And he was even chosen as a captain on his team.
Another example of uninvited controversy worn uneasily, but gracefully, by a courageous man whose only mistake was to be born with the wrong-colored skin at a time when such things mattered.
No. 4: Jaguar Jon Arnett
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OK, so here is a tale of raging controversy that involves a great Trojans running back, so fast and elusive that the nickname "Jaguar" seemed to be an understatement.
Jon Arnett, who was named All-American in 1955, seemed a front runner for the Heisman Trophy in 1956 but instead found controversy when it was discovered that he, along with other players in the conference, accepted payments from boosters.
Arnett was suspended for half of the 1956 season, thus costing him a chance for that prestigious little straight-arming man.
Juicy right? Payments from boosters, suspensions, all the things that define a good college football controversy.
Except that's not quite the way it happened.
It turns out that Arnett didn't accept an illegal payment at all.
The program he was suspended for, those pesky "illegal" payments that cost him so dearly, was actually a university and conference sanctioned program that offered lower-income students an opportunity to make $75 a month working at a job which could then be legally embellished by another $75 through sponsorship.
This is true. I checked it out.
And why did I take the time to check this out?
Because the great Jon Arnett challenged me to do so
After I perpetuated the "on-the-surface truth" about Jaguar Jon in a slideshow I published some time ago called "The 50 Greatest Trojans of All Time," Mr. Arnett sent me a message clarifying what really happened and suggested I dig a bit deeper for the truth.
And I did.
The controversy that surrounded Jaguar Jon Arnett was not of his doing nor was it his intent to break any rules.
That he really didn't break any rules did not stop college footballs governing body from punishing him unfairly.
Kind of sounds like the NCAA, doesn't it Trojans fans?
No. 3: Sam (Bam) Cunningham
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By 1970, African American football players were no longer a novelty in the college sport and their inclusion at all positions was seen throughout the nation.
Except at one of the crown jewels of college football, the University of Alabama.
Though Kentucky had broke the integration barrier for the Southeastern Conference in 1966, four years later the Crimson Tide were still all white.
And that would continue until a prime-time matchup of USC and Alabama convinced the 'Tides legendary coach Paul (Bear) Bryant that perhaps it was time for change.
You see, on that memorable night, Sam (Bam) Cunningham ran roughshod over Bryant's boys in a 42-21 beatdown by the Trojans in Tuscaloosa that wasn't as close as the final score might indicate.
And Bryant used that game as his basis to integrate Alabama's football program.
Don't think for a nanosecond that this wasn't controversial.
It was, and only those southerners who experienced it at the time can truly appreciate the level of angst this engendered in the region.
Was Bam Cunningham controversial in Los Angeles? No.
But damn, he lit them up in the deep south.
Both on the football field and in the realm of social thinking.
No. 2: O.J. Simpson
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This tragic figure is not controversial for what he did as a Trojan, but, rather, what has occurred since he left USC.
While playing for the Trojans, OJ Simpson was, quite simply, the best running back in college football.
Recipient of the 1968 Heisman Trophy, Simpson electrified fans with his smooth, graceful running style that combined between-the-tackles power with world-class track speed.
Simpson would take his talent to the NFL where he continued his excellence at the pro level.
Oh, if it had only ended there.
But it didn't, and once finished with football, the "Juice" would make headlines with his involvement (or non involvement, for those of the more gullible nature) in the gruesome murders of his former wife, Nicole, and restaurant worker, Ron Goldman.
Though legally acquitted, Simpson was sued in civil court and found responsible for the ghastly crime.
Then, as if to condemn himself for the crime that the legal system was unable to hold him accountable for, Simpson concocted a robbery plot for which he sits in a Nevada prison to this very day.
So what we are left with is a disgraced man who was a wonderful football player, but a horrible person.
And one who was, and is, swimming in controversy.
No. 1: Reggie Bush
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Some may wonder how Reggie Bush could possibly be No.1 on this list over a suspected murderer, OJ Simpson.
And to be honest, this writer has misgivings over the order of these two nefarious individuals as well.
But ultimately, the one connecting factor throughout this slideshow is the University of Southern California.
And when one considers the impact that Bush had on the program, most prominently felt in a negative manner upon his departure, the decision to place No. 5 first on this list was an easy choice to make.
Make no mistake about it, though. Reggie Bush was a marvelous football player for USC.
And I won't go into the specifics of Bush's transgressions because this has been documented ad nauseum.
Suffice to say, Bush committed a selfish act and left USC the wreckage of his inability to honestly come to terms with his mistake.
Instead of admitting his transgression, Bush hid from the truth and left his alma mater to twist in the wind and ultimately suffer an unfair punishment from that most sanctimonious and hypocritical of institutions, the NCAA.
Now the bad taste of Reggie Bush will linger in the mouths of USC and its fans for at least the next three years.
And for this, Bush occupies the dubious position of No. 1 on this list of controversial Trojans.
Thanks a lot Reggie.
Conclusion
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Quite literally, the World English Dictionary defines "controversial" in the following manner: "dispute, argument, or debate, esp one concerning a matter about which there is strong disagreement and esp one carried on in public or in the press."
To that end, all of the figures listed in this slideshow qualify for their admittance.
For players such as Brice Taylor, Willie Wood, Jon Arnett and Sam Cunningham, they could and should be top members on any list of noble Trojans as well.
That they are included in this list only reflects legal or societal ills that they themselves had no control over.
Still, others were simply victims of bad advice or poor judgment that, beyond an unfortunate decision, affected no one but themselves in the long run, and the seasonal fortunes of the team in the short run.
And then there are the villains.
Their placement in this list and the ranking they occupy reflects the ill they have left USC with, either in real damage or by reputation.
Though all on this list had their share of controversy, the impact they had on the proud USC football program was felt to varying degrees and the legacy they left in some cases was far more controversial than others.
But for Trojans fans, if they never see the controversy left by the worst of these players again, it will be far too soon.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
