USC Quickly Lifts Two-Week Ban on Beat Writer After Call With Lincoln Riley
USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley announced on Thursday that the university elected to lift its ban on OC Register reporter Luca Evans — who, according to Riley, previously violated USC media guidelines.
Luca Evans and Lincoln Riley posted statements on Thursday, combining their intent to move on from the situation now that the beat reporter's media credentials are restored.
According to their statements, Riley and Evans shared a frank discussion over the phone Wednesday night.
Riley determined that Evans' comments didn't warrant the two-week suspension after their talk.
The coach's statement read:
"Last night, I received a call from Luca Evans, and we had a 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."
USC and Riley received backlash for accusing Evans of violating media guidelines after he included comments in an article published last week from Trojans running back Quinten Joynerin.
The comments were made during a casual chat before a media availability session. Beat reporter stuff.
Joynerin shared with Trojans teammate Braylan Shelby how nervous he got before the media session. He mentioned expecting media cues from the Sports Information Director, a detail Evans included in his article.
READ: USC SUSPENDS LOCAL REPORTER TWO WEEKS FOR ‘VIOLATING POLICIES’
The university and Riley said Evans reported on items outside of the media availability window — a gross exaggeration of the scene — and assigned the two-week ban.
OC Register senior editor Todd Harmonson, joined by Register sports editor Tom Moore and publisher Ron Hasse, sent a letter to USC, supporting Luca Evans. They asked USC to dismiss the reporter's ban.
To many, the comments in the article were nothing more than small talk heard by Evans in passing. OutKick's Trey Wallace covered the inane decision by USC, echoing sentiments around sports media that it was a bum move.
Athletic Director Jennifer Cohen originally backed Riley's decision to ban Evans.
Cohen stated: “As an institution, USC prides itself on treating the media as a respected partner and key constituent. We understand the responsibility of reporters is to fairly and objectively cover stories, news events, and their respective beats. As you know, our media policies exist to protect our student-athletes and promote a culture of trust that is critical to building successful programs.
“After careful consideration and in alignment with the sentiment above, USC supports the football program’s decision regarding Luca’s two-week suspension. We recognize this may be disappointing, but we hope you can understand the need to enforce our media policies as we strive to create a positive and comfortable environment for our players and coaches.”