The USC Trojans’ season took a serious nosedive from their No. 1 preseason ranking and it ended at an all-time low. After the team’s embarrassing 21-7 loss to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl, reports surfaced that an altercation involving 10 to 15 Trojan players broke out in the locker room, and now it seems that the reports are true.
USC alum and law student Heather Brit first tweeted about the incident, stating that TJ McDonald and Tony Burnett got into it, which led to several other players .
Wow. Hearing that Mcdonald and Tony Burnett got into it… Which then basically turned into the whole team throwing blows. Heartbreaking.
— Heather Brittany (@HeatherBrit) January 1, 2013
Hearing that coaches were punched too. And Haden saw the entire thing. Anyway Kiffin makes it out of this? — Heather Brittany (@HeatherBrit) January 1, 2013
McDonald went on to say that the rumors were false, tweeting that of course there are emotions after a loss, but he dismissed any rumor of an altercation.
Just to clarify, those rumors about our locker room are false, n if u don’t believe me over a “source”…smh
— TJ McDonald (@tmacUSC7) January 1, 2013
Of course there are emotions after a loss but c’mon now lol this has to stop
— TJ McDonald (@tmacUSC7) January 1, 2013
Now the LA Daily News is getting involved, reporting that sources are saying the altercation between the players was, in fact, true.
From the LA Daily News:
The incident started when some freshmen questioned the leadership of the team’s seniors and whether they gave 100 percent effort for the Sun Bowl. This led to an argument that eventually escalated according to witnesses.
“It was one of the worst things I’ve seen in a locker room,” said a player who did not wish to be identified.
Freshman offensive tackle Zach Banner did not wish to discuss the incident but said, “It’s going to be a whole new family atmosphere next season and you can quote me on that. For the seniors, it’s terrible.”
This is bad news for a team that was ranked preseason No. 1. A terrible season for the Trojans, topped off by an even worse ending. Head coach Lane Kiffin is going to need to make some serious changes if he wants to get this program back on the right track. Finding a quarterback and a defensive coordinator is going to be hard enough, but now he has to work on rebuilding the locker room too.
[BSO]
