OJ Mayo, Take A Seat.
The prep phenom gets a 2-game suspension.
I’ve mentioned before that I played on a really good high school basketball team. Actually, I didn’t play that much, only in blowout — I was like the Pat Burke of my high school team. still, we were a really good team, ranked in the USA Today Top 25 and everything.
One year over the winter holiday we played in a national tournament that was held in Atlanta, and played against teams from all over the place (including a young Rasheed Wallace and Simon Gratz HS, and no, I have no memory of Rasheed at all from back then).
One day in that tournament we had a game against some other really good team. And the referees were just horrible. I remember sitting there on the bench in shock as they made one make-up call after another. And the worst thing about it is knowing that there’s absolutely no recourse as it’s happening. If they screw it up and cost you a game — as those referees did to us — there’s no way you’ll get the game back. You lose, you lose, that’s it.
I bring all that up because our man OJ Mayo was tossed from his high school team’s game over the weekend, allegedly for jawing at other players, and there’s some talk that he knocked a ref to the floor. But everyone who was at the game says the refs were railroading him and his school. And now OJ will have to serve a two-game suspension thanks to those refs.
We weren’t there, and we don’t know what happened, obviously. But let’s take this with a shaker of salt. Because while you should always listen to authority figures, that doesn’t mean they’re always correct. Even if they are wearing striped shirts.
69 Responses to “OJ Mayo, Take A Seat.”
Jan.29 at 11:59 am
Justin says:
OJ was screwed. Footage of the incident is available at http://www.ojmayonnaise.com
Jan.29 at 12:00 pm
Tommy Patron says:
Yeah, I guess this is why, for some reason, after some messed-up call (like when Kirk Hinrich was whistled for a foul on a three point attempt by Gilbert Arenas-FROM THE OTHER FREE THROW LINE-to end a half) I always metally picture someone slamming the ref to court and choking the s^*t out of him or her on the way to the locker room.
Jan.29 at 12:04 pm
Oliver says:
watchin videos of mayo online today to see wat the fuss is about- i caught him jawing at oppsoing teams and squaring up to smaller kids quite a bit- seems to me he’s got a bit of the bully in him- might do him some good to kno just cos hes good its not always gonna go his way- from wat i read he didn;t barge the ref- but he did approach him in wat could be seen to be a physically intimidating manner- nuff said
Jan.29 at 12:07 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
I just watched video of it here, too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3VWYjFzJV8
That ref falling is amazing — OJ nudges him and the ref acts like he got dropkicked.
Jan.29 at 12:08 pm
J says:
my mind is boggled because i just witnessed a ref flopping
Jan.29 at 12:10 pm
Oliver says:
just watched it- and its awesome —that ref should go play for argentina or italy in football- as i said tho theres mayo squaring up to people- haven’t KG and Melo proved fighting dont belong in basketball? theres no need for that and it might actually help him in the long run
Jan.29 at 12:18 pm
scott says:
wow that ref must have attended Vldae Divac’s school for flopping.
Jan.29 at 12:19 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
That’s unbelievable. That ref is an embarassment. He’ll be in the NBA next year.
Jan.29 at 12:30 pm
Aaron says:
I wonder if they crossed up legs and the guy tripped? Otherwise, he’s looking for a paycheck once OJ goes pro. Regardless, OJ needs to learn to control his anger and be an adult. The kid obviously has anger management issues.
Jan.29 at 12:34 pm
thesubwayconnection says:
I had no idea Vlade trains the referees.
Jan.29 at 12:39 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Oliverk, you beat me to the “ref doing his best Arjen Robben impression” reference, hopefully that clown is never ever allowed to ref another game again. As for OJ, it’s funny — unlike Lang (who may have mentioned it before) I never played on a nationally ranked high school basketball team, but I have seen OJ play in person a whole bunch of times, including when I went out to Cinci to do a feature on him and Bill Walker for SLAM about two years ago, when they were both at North College Hill. I was out there for a long weekend and caught a Friday night home game against a horrible team from their league, and then a Sunday afternoon game against one of the best teams in the state (from Dayton, I think). Anyway, in their Friday night game, the team they were playing was mostly a bunch of little, hick-looking white dudes, and NCH (mostly black) just dominated from the jump. Relatively late in the game, I think it was early in the 4th quarter, NCH was up by like 40 or something, and for reasons that were never made clear, OJ and Bill were still in the game. Like most people at the game, I blame NCH coach for this, and so I will give him at least partial blame for the near-brawl that erupted at this point. Allegedly, one of the little hick-looking white dudes, no doubt frustrated by being down 40 or 50 points and still having the other teams’ superstars in the game and showboating, dropped a N bomb, and a shoves and a couple of subtle punches were thrown. It didn’t get totally out of control, thankfully, but it was ugly nonetheless… Between that, and having seen him in person enough other times to see his bad-ass side come out, I don’t think OJ is a bully, but I can tell you he’s a pretty sick competitor with a Kobe-like streak in his game (and personality… we’ll see how that works out). Given that, and all the insane hype around him, and the fact that he’s been better than pretty much everyone he’s play for three or four years now, these high school games generally put him on the court with both players and refs who are overmatched by his game and his fame. Point being, OJ probably would’ve been better off if he’d been ruled ineligible like Bill was this year; he could’ve enrolled at USC last month and be leading the Trojans on a second-half run toward a No. 2 seed or something. At least dude’s to the drama.
Jan.29 at 12:50 pm
FL1P says:
Angermangement Issues???
you do know that he is a kid who plays basketball?that was a nice dunk, and he told his opponent. What the ref is doing there is hard to explain, but O.J. has nothing to do with him falling.
Jan.29 at 1:00 pm
BLAH says:
The fall was wack but OJ was taunting a bit after the dunk.
Jan.29 at 1:02 pm
Shotcaller says:
I heard that ref is Vlade’s 2nd cousin, and Ginobli’s godfather. He could learn something from them, there are certain mechanics necessary to make a flop look somewhat believable, and that ref needs practice. What a frigging joke. That dunk was sick though.
Jan.29 at 1:08 pm
scott says:
Poor Bill Walker.
Jan.29 at 1:39 pm
Ben Collins says:
Good work finding that Justin. This guy obviously wanted to be famous and he didn’t even succeed at that. In no way does he deserve any kind of suspension for that. The contact was COMPLETELY incidental. What a joke.
Jan.29 at 1:44 pm
mutoni says:
ryan, that was…long. but good!
Jan.29 at 2:14 pm
NAS says:
That is The most INSANE piece of footage i have ever seen - is the ref working for
VINCE MCMAHON???
Jan.29 at 2:20 pm
nester white says:
He dunks the ball, walks back up the court.. gets a technical (I guess because of talking) and then he continues on. If you will watch the referee, he does not take his eyes of OJ Mayo the entire time. He is paying ABSOLUTELY NO attention to the other 9 players on the court. When OJ turns around and walks back to the CROWD OF THE OTHER 9 PLAYERS, he is the one player that gets the technical, again. As OJ follows the referee to the scorers table with his arms straight out TO THE SIDE in a questioning manner, the bad actor/referee dives for a penny that he sees laying on the court. If you watched the play from beginning to end, this referee is obviously targeting OJ Mayo. That particular referee should lose his state licensing until he has retaken the complete licensing program.
Jan.29 at 2:22 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Thanks Mutoni. As you can probably tell by the typoes and missing words, I was really, really smoked out when I wrote it.
Jan.29 at 2:46 pm
Maha10k says:
Stop Flopping
Jan.29 at 2:49 pm
Aaron says:
Fl1P… I did say that because the kid has gotten in trouble for fights and running his mouth before. He needs to understand that being extremely talented gets you far but his character is going to reflect poorly on him. It’s good to have fire and be competitive, but he needs to learn where to draw the line.
Jan.29 at 2:55 pm
scott says:
Why the hell is Mayo going to USC in the first place?
Jan.29 at 2:56 pm
scott says:
Perhaps Bryant can be Mayo’s mentor seeing how they both will be in LA and Ryan always compares him to Bryant.
Jan.29 at 3:00 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Yes, I do. And yes, he might. OJ would love that. And since you asked, he’s going to USC because a) Tim Floyd is a former NBA coach, and OJ is looking for any edge he can find to get ready for the League and b) he wants to be in L.A. because he wants to be a star. Are there other, somewhat cloudier motivations (or connections… or lures… or considerations… or ???) that might have led him to Cali? I have no idea.
Jan.29 at 3:06 pm
scott says:
Cloudier motivations please explain Ryan?
Jan.29 at 3:12 pm
Ryan Jones says:
C’mon Scott, you know my steez. Gotta leave ‘em wondering…
Jan.29 at 3:15 pm
scott says:
Wait wait shady maybe illegal things happen in college. Well certainly not at Duke.
Jan.29 at 3:26 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Exactly, Scott. You clearly don’t need my help to figure this sh*t out.
Jan.29 at 4:02 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
He’s just after Matt Leinart’s sloppy seconds.
Jan.29 at 4:19 pm
Ryu says:
Somebody mentioned the Italian football (soccer) team above. The same came in to my mind, after I had watched the video.
Jan.29 at 4:47 pm
Brian says:
Where does D Wade find the time to ref high school games? No wonder he’s tired.
Jan.29 at 5:07 pm
Simmy Sosa says:
As a general rule, NEVER trust a zebra.
Jan.29 at 9:48 pm
mi599 says:
somebody let that tuna out of the can. I thought I was watching big time wrestling. HOLLYWOOD want this ref bad.
Jan.29 at 10:56 pm
Waters says:
The video got taken off of YouTube, and ojmayonnaise’s video is not in service. Anyone know where I can see the ref’s swan dive?
Jan.29 at 11:02 pm
Waters says:
nevermind, I found the video. What the video did not show was the second gunman who hit the ref with a tranquilizer dart. Funny thing is my boss works in Charleston, WV (which is around an hour from Huntington) and he refs some HS basketball games . I am going to ask if he knows that ref or what he has heard. That is absurd.
Jan.29 at 11:26 pm
yoooo says:
it looks like their feet just got tangled up and he tripped… http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=19256&catid=3
Jan.29 at 11:38 pm
Oliver says:
find out waters
that would be great-
see if this guy really does like soccer
Jan.30 at 9:00 am
Ryan Jones says:
Another version of the video, in case anybody still hasn’t seen it… http://www.modavox.com/boombox/PlayerSetup/Players/WBOYPlayer.aspx?FileId=4452 Gotta love the sportscaster’s totally objective take. He straight kills the ref.
Jan.30 at 9:05 am
Kelly says:
Not everyone feels that Huntington or OJ got a raw deal from the refs. This isn’t the first time that OJ was hit with a T for his behavior on the floor while playing in WV.
Jan.30 at 9:19 am
Steve says:
Here is the like to the local news with the latest. Includes the video that shows a slow motion of the so called brush with the ref. What a joke. OJ got screwed. http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/5386681.html
Jan.30 at 9:50 am
Brian says:
I’m from WV. Was at the game. The ref is Mike Lazo. Piece of work. Infamous for having the ability to make the game all about him. The 2 minute footage doesn’t even begin to tell the story. OJ & his teammates were getting mugged all night long by the other team and nothing was being called. Anytime OJ & his teammates did anything, they were nailed with a foul. His star teammate, Patrick Patterson, was in foul trouble the first 3 minutes of the game due to the poor officiating. I think 44 fouls called in this game and at least 30 were called by Lazo. The first T was called because after the dunk, OJ held on to the ball as he walked up court. Nobody had a problem with that. Second T was for nothing, as Lazo was stalking OJ the entire time. The flop was ridiculous and has caused quite a stir here in WV. Lazo has become public enemy #1 and it seems like the entire state (as well as local media) is behind OJ. Courts may get involved this morning. OJ may get to play in their big game tonight down at Duke. And the ejection may be overturned. Stay tuned….
Jan.30 at 9:53 am
Ex HHS player says:
This is larger than any of you could ever hope to understand. We will never know the depth of this conspiracy. O.J. and this team were targeted…plain and simple. Unfortunately racisim rears it’s ugly head again…believe it or not, but I’ve lived it. I know you’ll say I’m overreacting…but you’ve seen the video
Jan.30 at 11:02 am
Johnny says:
I was there… nothing really happened just a lil tension
Jan.30 at 11:28 am
Ryan Jones says:
You’re overreacting. Not to discredit whatever personal experiences you’ve had, man, but most (all?) of the kids on the other team look black, too. Isn’t it more likely that the ref is just a jerk-off? I think I like Brian’s take on this one…
Jan.30 at 12:57 pm
Brian says:
Update. WV judge forces an injuction and OJ (& the other teammates who were tossed for leaving the bench) can play tonight at Duke (against Artesia) and Friday in Kentucky. Also stated that if the appeal is denied and the 2 game suspension is upheld, Huntington High will NOT have to forfeit any game that OJ played in (should HHS win them). Here is a camera angle that has been held as it showed the best angle on everything. http://webad.cnpapers.com/huntbball012907/ Give it time to load up. Again, this 2 to 3 minute segment does not show you what OJ & his teammates had to put up with for the entire game. It’s nice to see that someone finally has stood up to our horrible state high school athletic commission and did the right thing. So far anyways. As for the race card, I wouldn’t really say that’s it. The other team had just as many black players. This was someone, once again, targetting a high profile player and not benig able to handle the officiating duties of such a high profile game. It was #1 vs. #2 in the state, as well as having the star power team of Huntington High School that has more than just Mayo & Patterson going on to play D1 ball. 9,000 in attendance. Lazo just cracked under the pressure of the game and handled it all wrong.
Jan.30 at 2:16 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Great link, Brian. Lazo is pretty clearly an a**hole, in my humble opinion.
Jan.30 at 7:51 pm
DP says:
Damn, O.J. must be the boss around there in VA. I mean after watching the video, the coaches could not control him and his teammates damn sure wasn’t going to touch him. Are they scared of the man or some shit like that? I mean he is not God out there and to me there are two guards ahead of him right now. That would be Mr. Indiana and Mr. Memphis. The ref was drunk or something like that, but Mayo should watch his temper as well. Before I dunk on his ass. play wit it.
Jan.30 at 8:59 pm
Charlie D says:
im just waiting for his rookie season in the nba when he gets rocked by everyone execpt mike dunleavy
Jan.30 at 9:52 pm
Tom Jackson says:
Probably no one is still checking this post, but I’ve been reading SLAM since 2000 and SLAMOnline since 2001. I was born and raised in Huntington and am an HHS alum and former player. I played with Mayo when he was 12 and 13 at the Huntington YMCA, he was dunking back then. I hoped and wished Mayo and Walker would return here for years to play at HHS, maybe even a cameo at Marshall (not going to happen), when Mayo announced he’d play for HHS, it was honestly one of the most exciting days of my life. Every great HHS player of the last decade has gotten screwed or screwed themselves (see: Dontae Lewis or Archel Bruce) and the reason OJ didn’t want to come back here has come to fruition. Possibly racism, certainly jealousy and incompitence. Too many people without perception or grasp. 10 years from now, sadly, Lazo will brag about this. It’s why Mayo almost didn’t come back, and why he might regret it now for the rest of his life. I am so saddended by this… OJ, from an old YMCA buddy, man I’m sorry. Don’t give up on our city yet.
Jan.31 at 12:27 am
Tom Jackson says:
By the by, HHS beat 11th ranked Artesia 73-66 tonight and in an unfortunate, yet slightly ironic, turn of events, Mayo did foul out. Further, the game was tied when he fouled out, just as some extra-added juiciness for like.. Skip Bayless or some other soul-less prick to jabber about tomorrow.
Jan.31 at 1:25 pm
Matthew says:
DP, it’s WV where he is so play wit dat and I don’t know why people continue to hate on this kid. Did LeBron ever recieve this much shit when he was still in high school. For years now OJ has been the top player in his class and now, magically, he’s not only the best player, but not even the best guard. ?? Wow, this kid is the truth. Period. Yeah Derrick Rose and Eric Gordon are good, but Mayo has been good since he was in grade school. LeBron wasn’t “discovered” until he was in high school. OJ was starting and killing cats on the Varsity level when he was in 7th grade!!! I know many out there feel the same way I do, (what up Ryan Jones!!) but for those who don’t, please explain to me why OJ should not be the #1 player in his class and don’t give me some bullshit answer like he’s not as good as he used to be. He has only gotten better over the years and will continue to do so as he goes on.
Jan.31 at 2:01 pm
Ryan Jones says:
I feel you Matthew — the OJ hype/hate is weird and largely overblown — but the one place I’ll disagree is your LeBron memory. He was getting hated on by a LOT of people in high school, especially his senior year, both for all the stupid sh*t with the Hummer and the jerseys, and for being so overrated. But yeah, it’s different with O because he hasn’t done anything to fall off, but some other guys have caught up with him because he got so good so early. Assuming he keeps his head screwed on, he’ll be fine. And if he were two inches taller, I really think he’d have a chance at being on the Mike and Kobe level. As it is, I think he’ll be really, really good.
Jan.31 at 2:02 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Also, can we please start a new column on the home page called “DP Plays Wit It”? Lang? Sam? Anyone?
Jan.31 at 3:40 pm
Matthew says:
Ryan, I do remember all about the Hummer fiasco, and the jersey deal (shout out to Wes Unseld). The point I meant to make was he was never dropped from the #1 player status or never T’d up by some stupid ref trying to get his name in the papers. OJ’s catchin shit for what he does on the court. Seemed like most of the flak LeBron caught was from off the court.
Feb.6 at 12:24 am
Lisa says:
So after reading this story online I searched for the videos and watched about 3 different ones from different angles and slow motion. If you notice afterwards when he was walking across #12 from the other team i believe elbowed him but suprisingly no ref saw that only OJ confronting him. The refs need to do there job and leave their personal problems off the court. And if crap like this happens they need to get relooked at for their reffing position. Maybe that ref should quit being a ref and try acting school since that sucks as bad as his officiating!
Feb.6 at 5:56 pm
Paul says:
I have the same problems with the refs at my game, cities just pick some random people off da street and say hey your a ref
Feb.7 at 1:05 pm
THE KIA says:
Ryan, the other reason OJ is better than everyone else is because he’s OLDER than everyone else… How many ‘kids’ do you know will turn 20 the year they graduate High School?
Feb.12 at 2:36 pm
Sareena Dayaram says:
The unwarranted suspension of OJ Mayo for the upcoming two games is very much unreasonable. In less than a minute, referee Mike Lazo had penalized Mayo with two technical fouls for rather questionable reasons. Mayo was obviously infuriated by Lazo’s officiating and approached the referee presumably to demand an explanation for his bogus calls. In doing so, the high school hoop star made slight contact with Lazo who in turn came crashing down to the hardwood floor. The flop was exaggerated, to say the least. This incident displays the excess power basketball referees hold in this sport. It is nonsensical for a single individual to possess nearly absolute authority on such important decisions. This power needs to be better distributed. The implications from Lazo’s crooked calls are noteworthy, as it could jeopardize Huntington High’s top spot because of Mayo’s absence in upcoming games. Moreover, if evidence is found that Mayo intentionally bumped Lazo, he could be suspended for up to a year. Also, this event has somewhat tarnished Mayo’s image for no legitimate reason. In my opinion, it appears that Lazo disliked the 19 year old to begin with. Lazo wished to use the immense power included in his job description to his advantage, and perhaps even make money from the incident even though Mayo is still an amateur. Although he currently does not have much money to offer, as an extremely high profile athlete, Mayo is sure to become an instant revenue generator in the near future from endorsements and eventually the NBA. Technology is undoubtedly improving the monitoring of sports games, and basketball should capitalize on this advantage in order to foster an environment of fair play. However, this is still only high school basketball. The NBA needs to set the example for lower levels of basketball, and categorically follow other sports in utilizing technology to settle debatable calls. The NFL boasts some of the best referees in sport, which can be partially attributed to the fact that they rely on technology for some of their calls. Tennis is another sport that makes use of technology to make close line calls, as such athletes and critics are for the most part silenced by the digitized replays.
Feb.13 at 3:18 pm
Markim says:
They just hatin on O.J.if hes the best highschool baller of course hes gona talk smack to other teams but the ref situatio was blown out of perportion the refs need to get their head out their butts and just watch the show he puts on
Feb.15 at 2:42 am
» Babylinks: Refs and the Slippery Slope - SLAM ONLINE says:
[…] But even if Hull did happen to show some Gandhi-esque leniency in the waning minutes of this game, isn’t it his job to just let it go? Has it really gotten so bad that referees are given purple hearts for not OJ Mayoing it? […]
Feb.24 at 3:30 pm
tj thrush says:
Nivk VanExcel on line one.
Feb.24 at 3:34 pm
tj thrush says:
nNick VanExcel on line one.
Feb.26 at 9:59 pm
Brandon Jordan says:
I can’t believe that my boy OJ got a suspension. I hope that huntington is good with their best player and the #1 player in the country sitting out I don’t know lets wait and see keep me posted
Mar.11 at 9:22 pm
Tech says:
Greg Monroe is the best junior basketball player out there right now.
Mar.27 at 12:50 pm
Big Daddy Walker says:
O.J. Mayo is the worst player i have ever seen it looks like the kid is always high doin them slams and stuff. Dont you think he needs to go smoke some and plays with his boys. HE SUCKS!!!!
May.1 at 10:45 am
jesse says:
coryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy neilson is hung like a telephone pole
May.1 at 10:47 am
dave says:
o.j. is way overrated if it wasnt for patterson he wouldnt be any where
Feb.11 at 11:04 pm
NF alum says:
Lang Whitaker on the basketball team??I don’t think so! Maybe as “team manager,” but not on the team. JV yes, varsity…nope. What a vivid imagination.