USC men’s basketball head coach Eric Musselman is entering his third season with high expectations and a talented roster led by draft hopefuls Alijah Arenas and returning forward Jacob Cofi.
The former NBA head coach is also the center of an investigation that was “launched into a profanity-laced, racially charged postgame locker room tirade” against one of his star players last season, according to an explosive new lawsuit obtained by the California Post.
Former USC Basketball Player Accuses Coach Eric Musselman Of Racial Attack
Chad Baker-Mazara, a sixth-year guard on USC’s team last season, with two 30-point scoring games to his credit, filed the suit in Los Angeles on Monday. The former Trojan was dismissed from the team a day after injuring himself in a Feb. 28 game against Nebraska. He claims that prior to his dismissal in March, Musselman unleashed a racist rant on him following that game.
The injury that preceded Baker-Mazara’s dismissal was actually a hustle play. Chasing Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort from behind on a fast break early in the second half of a game at the Galen Center, Baker-Mazara blocked Sandfort’s layup before crashing onto the court.
Baker-Mazara played 19 minutes before exiting after he was injured. After he came out he chose to sit in courtside seats with fans in the Galen Center instead of returning to the team bench in front of him.
The Trojans were blown out, 82-67, and Musselman clearly was embarrassed. The lawsuit claims that when the team got back to its dressing room, Musselman “lost his mind.”
The seasoned coach allegedly started yelling at the team and when the sixth-year senior, Baker-Mazara “attempted to address his teammates by saying ‘Hey guys!’ Coach Musselman erupted at Baker-Mazara, screaming: ‘You shut the f—k up! You are one of the worst teammates anyone can ever have!’” according to the suit.
According to the suit, “Wow, Coach, do you need me to leave,” Baker-Mazara allegedly responded, “because I don’t understand this animosity.”
Baker-Mazara also claims Musselman then told him, “Yes, leave! Go back to the f—king Dominican Republic! Nobody wants you here!! F—k you!”
Those comments crossed the line of civility according to Baker-Mazara, who considered them to be racist and discriminatory — akin to telling a Black person to ‘go back to Africa,’” the lawsuit stated.
“Coach Musselman’s outburst was a direct attack on Baker-Mazara’s national origin and Dominican heritage, made from a position of authority and power by the Head Coach of the team, in front of all of Baker-Mazara’s teammates. The tirade was unprovoked, vicious, and discriminatory.”
Chad Baker-Mazara Dimissed From Team After Loss To Nebraska
The day after the game, the 26-year-old Baker-Mazara was dismissed from the team with two games left in the season and rather than receiving an apology, Baker-Mazara says USC, its agents and representatives were collusive in bashing his character to media outlets in order to justify his dismissal.
“In truth,” Baker-Mazara’s lawsuit stated, “no investigation was conducted prior to Baker-Mazara’s dismissal. USC did not interview Baker-Mazara, nor did it interview any of his teammates. In fact, USC never provided Baker-Mazara with a stated reason for his dismissal from the Team.”
Baker-Mazar has had a well-traveled college career. He started at Duquesne in the 2020-21 season then left to attend San Diego State in 20221-22. From there, Baker-Mazar took his skills to Auburn and blossomed into a double-digit scorer for a Top 10-15 team in the country, before signing a $3M NIL and revenue-sharing agreement for his final collegiate season with USC where he averaged 18.5 points per game.
Chad Baker-Mazar Lawsuit Claims USC Missed Payments Associated With $3M NIL Deal
However, Baker-Mazara alleges in the lawsuit that USC got funny with the money, missed a payment and this all coincided with his dismissal following the racial tirade Musselman directed towards him. Baker-Mazara believes the school withheld his money on purpose. Claiming USC wanted to “wait-and-see the outcome of what would happen in the Nebraska game and whether the Trojans would make the NCAA Tournament,” Baker-Mazara’s lawsuit stated.
“If the Trojans lost and their NCAA Tournament hopes were dashed, USC would deny payment and save for itself the remaining very substantial balance for its next recruiting class as Baker-Mazara was out of eligibility.”
As soon as Baker-Mazara was ousted from the program USC immediately moved to terminate his NIL agreements by stating he had violated a “morals clause.”
The lawsuit dismisses that as being part of an attempt to withhold Baker-Mazara’s entitled funds, which he claims “none of the remaining fixed sum USC is obligated to pay under the Agreements has been paid.”
“The morals clause is hopelessly vague, overbroad, and unenforceable,” Baker-Mazara’s lawsuit alleged. “But in any event, reliance on the morals clause was entirely pretextual — a post hoc justification manufactured to allow USC to conserve its NIL funding pool and avoid paying the remaining substantial fixed sum owed to [Baker-Mazara] after the season had collapsed and Baker-Mazara’s services could no longer take the Trojan basketball team where it wanted to go.”
Baker-Mazara Says USC & Musselman Damaged His Draft Stock with Team Dismissal
Another vital allegation in the suit levied by Baker-Mazara surrounds his failure to be picked up by an NBA team. He alleges that because of USC and Musselman’s conduct, his NBA draft stock “was substantially damaged” and he lost “out on other professional opportunities.”
Therefore, he’s also suing for breach of contract, as he expects to play professionally in Puerto Rico this upcoming season
