One of the shadiest corners of the sports world has been thrust into the spotlight, and the residual glare falls upon UCLA.
On Tuesday, former sports agent Josh Luchs published a striking exposé on the relationship between agents and collegiate athletes. The piece, which is posted on Sports Illustrated’s website, cites UCLA as one of multiple schools at which Luchs provided money and other benefits to players during the 1990s.
Luchs’ report describes how he first built a relationship with former Bruin receiver Sean LaChapelle, who played at UCLA from 1989 to 1993. Working with fellow agent Harold Daniels, Luchs used his relationship with LaChapelle to foster connections with a number of other Bruins of that era, including Jamir Miller, Carl Greenwood and Othello Henderson. Luchs states he didn’t give any cash to LaChapelle, but did so with many of the other Bruins he came across.
“If you were a good player at UCLA, I made a run at you,” the agent wrote in his report.
Luchs targeted many of the bigger names that passed through the L.A. football scene. He admits trying to lure future NFL All-Pro offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, as well as future NFL wide receiver J.J. Stokes. Both of those players turned down his offers.
“But for every kid who didn’t take the money, there were dozens who called me and asked to get paid,” Luchs wrote.
Luchs even cited current UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel in his report, albeit briefly. The former agent noted that he had hoped LaChapelle would turn pro after his junior season and hire him as an agent, but that Neuheisel ““ then a UCLA assistant coach ““ talked the wide receiver into staying for his final year.
While the circumstances surrounding Luchs’ revelations ““ the fact that an agent is giving firsthand accounts of transgressions ““ are revolutionary, the notion that collegiate athletes are receiving benefits, well, is not.
The football program at USC recently had heavy sanctions levied against it by the NCAA after it was discovered, through lengthy investigations, that former running back Reggie Bush accepted improper benefits from an agent.
Realistically, as long as there has been college athletics there have been allegations of misdoings on the part of agents.
“You always hear stuff, you always hear rumors,” current UCLA wide receiver Taylor Embree said. “You never know what to believe. I’m sure there are some crazy things going on, but I think the NCAA is doing a good job of cleaning it up.”
In his report, Luchs described how he was eventually suspended by the NFL Players’ Association for an alleged violation stemming from his relationship with another former agent. After being suspended, Luchs decided to leave the profession permanently.
In 1999, the NFLPA instituted a new rule that stated that players who were retroactively found to have accepted money from agents no longer were required to pay that money back. The rule effectively stripped the agents of any leverage they may have held.
Although the NCAA and NFLPA have sought to crack down on agent involvement in collegiate athletics, there’s no telling how much more house cleaning will be necessary.
“Nothing would shock me anymore,” Embree said. “I think guys are starting to understand that they can’t be involved with that. Especially with what’s going on across town, I think people are aware of that and want to stay away from that.”