Gregg Doyel Is Bad At Journalism

Gregg Doyel writes for CBSSports.com and his columns are - to say the least - usually over-the-top, lack proper insight and, frankly, suck. He’s the guy who said that College Basketball as we know it is now over because John Calipari is at Kentucky. Yep, completely over. Teams like North Carolina, Duke and UConn? Shouldn’t even try. You need not look any further for evidence of Doyel’s douche-baggery than this post our friends at Deadspin put up in October.

Well, he’s done it again.

Doyel now claims that “there has never been a dirtier combination of college football and college basketball programs at the same time, than the University of Southern California Trojans.”

OK, let’s dissect this slowly so that if Gregg happens to stop by this page he’ll be able to follow along.

First, let me say that everything that has come out about USC’s football and basketball programs are only allegations right now. I’m not saying they aren’t true, I’m just saying that right now nothing has been proven and no action has been taken. A rational person would say they are innocent until proven guilty, yes?

Maybe Doyel doesn’t agree with that and thinks that enough allegations about a person should automatically mean they’re dirty. Oh, wait. That link right there leads to a column Doyel wrote on May 7th that says the public shouldn’t judge top basketball recruits John Wall and Renardo Sidney, because they haven’t been convicted of anything yet. These kids are just facing allegations, therefore we should hold our judgment because nothing has been proven. Selective morals much?

Then Doyel drops a few lines on us like they’re bombshell revelations. In reference to the allegation by former O.J. Mayo associate Louis Johnson claiming that Tim Floyd personally handed $1,000 to Mayo’s friend Rodney Guillory:

“And so now we have this accusation that he gave cash to Guillory, an accusation made by a former associate/friend of Mayo and Guillory, Louis Johnson, who didn’t just tell the media about it. He told the feds. Which means if he’s lying, he’s going to jail”

Doyel acts like people have never lied under oath before. Hell, we had a president lie under oath. Would it be shocking if a 36-year-old guy who was convicted of selling cocaine in 2005, evicted from his house less than a year later and is working on a book about the whole Mayo affair, happened to fib a little? Especially about an incident that can’t really be proven one way or another? Again, I’m not saying he’s lying, but right now it’s a “he said, he said” situation.

The Reggie Bush affair is the only instance that could legitimately be considered “dirty” about USC’s football program and that investigation has been going on for four years with no results. I do believe that Bush took the money but USC’s complicity in the situation will likely never be proven because there is significant evidence they had no idea it was going on. This was not a booster or person within the program funneling money to Bush. It was a representative of a sports marketing firm who was attempting to gain the player’s services.

So with those two allegations - and again, these are just allegations right now - Doyel claims there has never been a dirtier combination of football and basketball programs.

Let me counter that.

Both Oklahoma’s basketball and football programs are currently on probation.

How about Doyel’s own Alma mater, the University of Florida? In 1990, Florida had both the football and basketball programs put on probation because coaches were paying players directly (specifically future NBA player Vernon Maxwell and five football players). Oh and there was also a massive ring of drug trafficking involving the University’s student athletes. Oops. Maxwell claimed that a big chunk of the money given to him by the program was used to purchase drugs.

But yeah Gregg, USC’s allegations make them the dirtiest combination of programs ever. Yep, no argument there. I mean, you’re definitely not the kind of guy who would ignore everything wrong with your school just to bash another, right?

Apparently Doyel is the kind of guy who likes to shoot first and ask questions later. THAT is just fantastic journalism. Well done Gregg.