USC Football suspends reporter for 2 weeks
The USC Trojans have suspended a reporter two weeks for violating their media policy.
The OC Register published an article on Tuesday about the matter, saying that USC’s football program suspended reporter Luca Evans two weeks. Evans reports for both the Orange County Register and Southern California News Group.
USC says that Evans violated its policy prohibiting reporting on anything outside of media availabilities in the practice facility. According to their story, Evans wrote about a conversation two players had prior to their authorized media availability.
Evans, who is in his first year as a USC beat reporter, also rankled USC earlier in the season with some other moves. He apparently had violated their policies by “asking a question when a press conference had been concluded and talking to players and coaches in areas on campus that weren’t designated as media availabilities.”
So Cal News Group wrote a letter to USC on Evans’ behalf, arguing the suspension was an overreaction. USC stood by the decision, with new school athletic director Jen Cohen even affirming the suspension in a statement she issued in response.
Evans will not have access to USC’s football facilities or media availability through Sept. 28.
Some of Evans’ colleagues were not happy with the decision.
Bad form by USC/Lincoln Riley here. @bylucaevans is a good, young reporter learning the ropes as a CFB beat writer and to suspend him for two weeks? For something so innocuous?
Ridiculous. https://t.co/eSbwJ0JZ5k
— Evan Barnes (@evan_b) September 19, 2023
https://twitter.com/alex_kirshner/status/1704257869422727247
USC should be ashamed. Revoking a beat writer’s credential for reporting a (harmless! charming!) conversation a player had with a teammate in front of the media?
Horrible. https://t.co/zb9D9dPIBU
— Bill Oram (@billoram) September 19, 2023
This is flabbergasting, to be honest. @USC_Athletics doesn't want reporters to describe the people we're covering — not schemes, not tactics, not injuries, the HUMAN part? The endearing, inspiring part?
Justice for @bylucaevans, man. This is dumb.https://t.co/SzmCMJO3S5
— Mirjam Swanson (@MirjamSwanson) September 19, 2023