USC football, Lincoln Riley revoke access for Orange County Register beat writer for 2 weeks

USC football has revoked the credential of Orange County Register beat reporter Luca Evans for two weeks, ending on Sept. 28, according to a report from the Register. The suspension of access comes after head coach Lincoln Riley apparently took ire with a story published Thursday, which was seemingly a final straw in USC’s eyes and lead to the suspension.

Riley took issue with the story — which focused on freshman running back Quinton Joyner excelling this season — referencing a conversation between players shortly before talking to the media. USC contended this violated a policy that prohibits reporting on the team outside of media availabilities at the practice facility.

Todd Harmonson, a senior editor for the Register, strongly disagreed with the suspension.

“This is a huge overreaction to what the USC program perceived to be a policy violation. We clearly disagree and stand fully behind Luca,” Harmonson said.

USC has apparently raised previous issues with Southern California News Group — the company that owns the Register — about Evans, including that he asked a question right after a press conference concluded and talked to players and coaches on campus outside of designated media availabilities. The exact instances of these alleged violations of the policy were not spelled out in the Register story announcing the suspension.

The SCNG and Register appealed the decision to USC athletic director Jen Cohen and university president Carol Folt. The appeal was denied.

“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,” Cohen wrote, denying the appeal.

Evans will continue to cover the beat for the Register absent direct access for the two weeks, the SCNG said.

“… in football parlance, USC is looking to kick him out of multiple games for a false start. We ask that this suspension be rescinded immediately,” the SCNG wrote in the appeal letter to Cohen.