USC AD Mike Garrett Says NCAA Sanctions Are 'Just A Lot Of Envy'

Mike Garrett had what may be the worst public reaction ever yesterday in addressing the NCAA’s severe sanctions against USC. It’s hard to imagine the functional CEO of an organization doing this, but it’s ESPN and it’s in print, so boggle your eyes and drop your jaw in advance to prevent injury to either body part.

"As I read the decision by the NCAA, all I could get out of all of this was … I read between the lines and there was nothing but a lot of envy, and they wish they all were Trojans," Garrett said to cheers Thursday night at the San Francisco Airport Marriott.

Ahh. The “haters” defense. Familiar to all third graders and aspiring rappers. But wait! There’s more:

Wearing a striped cardinal-and-gold-colored tie — and a smile — Garrett had this to say when I approached him before the start of the event: "No comment. Don’t bother me. The world is great."

While walking away with associates, he said, "Don’t talk to that guy. He’s the press."

Later, when asked why he had not spoken publicly about the NCAA report or even issued a video statement, Garrett acted like he did not hear the question. He patted me on the chest and said, "God bless you."

Mike Garrett may be a lousy, lousy athletics director, but he has a future in pro wrestling mike work whenever his gig at USC runs out. And if this continues, he’ll be wearing a singlet and getting bodyslammed very, very shortly.