USC football made headlines earlier this week for issuing a 2-week suspension to a reporter. Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley has now spoken about the matter.
USC beat reporter Luca Evans was punished for reporting on a private conversation between Trojans players outside of the proper media availability spaces. Evans writes and reports for both the Orange County Register and Southern California News Group.
However, it appears as though Evans will no longer have to serve the full two weeks. Riley released a statement detailing a conversation he had with Evans, who called up the Trojans head coach on Thursday. Riley also welcomed the young reporter back to practice.
“Last night, I received a call from Luca Evans, and we had very candid and productive conversation. We agreed that we both could have handled the situation differently. I appreciate Luca recognizing the policies we have in place to protect our student-athletes and acknowledging to adhere to those in the future. We welcome Luca back to practice and look forward to his continuing coverage of the Trojans,” Riley said.
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The expeditious resolution could have potentially been in part due to some of the public backlash Evans’ suspension has drawn.
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UCLA Bruins head coach Chip Kelly appeared to be facetiously intrigued when he heard about the USC reporter’s suspension. But perhaps his excitement at the possibility will have to be short-lived given how the USC situation turned out from a public relations standpoint.
