SAN DIEGO — Reggie Bush apparently has reached an out-of-court settlement with a fledgling sports marketer who is trying to recoup nearly $300,000 in cash and gifts the star running back and his family allegedly accepted while he was playing at the University of Southern California.
Depositions involving the two former marketers who wooed Bush while he was at USC have been called off, attorney Brian Watkins said Wednesday.
Asked if Bush was still scheduled to be deposed Friday, Watkins said: “I have no comment.”
A settlement could stymie the NCAA and Pacific-10 Conference investigators, who are trying to determine whether Bush and his parents took improper benefits. Bush, a running back for the Saints, has not met with NCAA and Pac-10 investigators, and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
If Bush is found retroactively ineligible, he could lose his 2005 Heisman Trophy.
If the NCAA determines that USC violated rules, the football program could have to forfeit victories from those seasons and face additional penalties.
Kroenke speaks on Rams.
Stan Kroenke said he wants to keep the Rams in St. Louis.
Kroenke told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he will do “everything” he can to keep the Rams in his home state of Missouri.
The comments, published Wednesday, are Kroenke’s first since announcing he wants to buy the 60 percent of the team he doesn’t own.
Kroenke, who lives in Columbia, Mo., also owns the Nuggets, Avalanche, Rapids and has a stake in the English soccer power Arsenal.
Footnotes.
Colts president Bill Polian said the team will not discipline defensive tackle Eric Foster, who faces a sexual assault lawsuit.
• The Vikings signed cornerback Lito Sheppard, shoring up their secondary while Cedric Griffin recovers from surgery on his left knee.
• The Jaguars traded defensive end Quentin Groves to the Raiders for an undisclosed draft pick.
