Shortly after this story was published, Coach Lincoln Riley issued a statement that reporter Luca Evans has been reinstated.
USC football defended its suspension of reporter Luca Evans on Wednesday, citing “multiple policy violations,” but would not elaborate as to which or how many policies had been violated.
Evans, a beat reporter for the Orange County Register and Southern California News Group, had his media access suspended for two weeks from the USC football team after publishing a story that sourced quotes outside media availability, sparking outrage from other members of the media.
Evans reported that Braylan Shelby asked a “visibly nervous” Quentin Joyner “did they tell you what to say?” before Joyner made his first media appearance.
USC head football coach Lincoln Riley took issue with Evans’ reporting of an overheard conversation between student athletes Joyner and Shelby, and addressed the suspension at a press conference earlier this week.
“My first job is not to the media, it’s not to the fans, it’s not to anybody else. It’s to protecting our players, that is first and foremost,” Riley said. “There were multiple policies broken - I felt like it was far enough where we needed to act.”
When pressed for further clarification, Riley stated that he would “not go into specifics” of which policies were violated by Evans.
Katie Ryan, director of football communications at USC, reiterated on Wednesday to Annenberg Media that the decision to suspend Evans was the result of “multiple policy violations.” Ryan did not clarify what specific policies were violated, but instead referred back to Riley’s statements.
When pressed for further comment, Ryan did not elaborate and ended the call.
According to the Orange County Register, Ryan brought up concerns about Evans to SCNG editors earlier this season. These concerns included “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.”
Evans was approved to cover USC football under the media credentials policy, as detailed on the USC athletics website. The policies outline certain restrictions on when and how reporters can speak to student-athletes, staff and coaches.
“Usually, if you’re covering a college football team for a season, you get a season credential,” said Alan Abrahamson, a USC Journalism professor with experience in sports journalism. “If you want to cover a game, you get a special credential for the game. You have to apply for the credential, and part of that credential says you will abide by the guidelines and policies of the rules for covering that game that are set forth as part of the application process.”
Ryan said that the policies are designed “to protect the wellbeing of our student athletes,” and the suspension is a step in ensuring that safety. The athletics website outlines that USC has the right to limit, suspend or terminate media credentials at any time.
“What I do know is that a private institution is allowed to set its own guidelines and rules for things that are a privilege to cover,” said Christina Bellantoni, the director of the USC Annenberg Media Center. “That policy does not say if you hear something, you may not report on it, right? That is up for interpretation.”
“[What] is peculiar to college athletics is the amount of power that individual coaches have and I think that’s what we’re running into at USC,” said Jim Alexander, a sports columnist at the OC Register who has covered sports in Southern California for five decades. “What I see instead is coaches, and it’s not just Lincoln, because its coaches throughout the country, figure that they can set this up, they can have absolute control.”
During the press conference, Riley said that the program “looks forward to welcoming back” Evans once the suspension ends. Evans made a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, reflecting his views on the situation.
“I will be continuing to cover the program as best I possibly can, and [I] have some exciting stores in the works,” Evans said. “I appreciate the support from members of the media, and [I] am determined to continue to tell engaging stories that capture these athletes as people.”
USC football as an institution is a nationally recognized brand that acts as an important aspect of the university’s culture and financial focus. Part of the intrigue around the program is how, despite the school setting, its run and treated similarly to professional sports leagues, including its relationship to reporters.
“Sports writing, sports journalism is a relationship business,” Abrahamson said. “If you’re quoting a player on the team, or you’re going to tell you’re doing the story, it’s incumbent upon the reporter to let people know what’s going on before they see print so people don’t feel sandbagged.”
Following the suspension, numerous members of the media came out in support of Evans saying that the decision was an overreaction to the situation. They called for an immediate rescinding of the suspension.
“When it happens to one, you know, the rest of us have to take note,” Alexander said. “Because if it happens to them, it could happen to you, it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody, depending on the mood that the coach is in at a given time.”