Buried in an excellent item from Larry Holder of CBSSports.com regarding Reggie Bush’s first public comments in the wake of the nut-kicking administered by the NCAA to USC last week appears reference to the ongoing presence of marketing agent Mike Ornstein in Bush’s life.
Bush hired Ornstein to handle Reggie’s marketing deals after he entered the NFL, and Ornstein did a great job of lining up a thick portfolio of off-field opportunities for Bush. But according to Charles Robinson and Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports, Ornstein provided Bush and his family members with financial benefits while Bush played for USC.
In 2007, Bush and Ornstein parted ways, apparently because Ornstein believed Bush should settle the civil claims made by Lloyd Lake and Michael Michaels, the two men who sued Bush after he hired Ornstein.
Per Holder, Ornstein was “meandering around reporters and poking his ear in the huddle to listen to every word Bush had to say.” He also, per Holder, “tried to push a member of the Saints public relations staff to step in and end the press conference.”
So why was Ornstein there? Per Holder, Ornstein has “become a go-to kind of consultant for the Saints,” and he has helped facilitate coach Sean Payton’s book deal and the marketing of it. Writes Holder: “He passed out the books Wednesday at a press conference and even asked Payton a question as if he were a reporter on how much of the book’s profits will go to charity.”
Ornstein isn’t doing anything wrong. It’s just a very strange situation.
