2 USC Football Players Reportedly Fight in Tunnel After Loss to Stanford
By Timothy Rapp , Featured Columnist Sep 21, 2015
Two USC players reportedly fought in the tunnel of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum following USC's 41-31 loss against Stanford on Saturday night and had to be restrained by coaches and other players, according to TMZ Sports.
Per the report, the two players were "yelling and pushing" before being separated, and coach Steve Sarkisian reportedly said, "We just lost the game and you two are fighting each other?"
The loss seriously hurt USC's College Football Playoff chances, especially with a tough schedule in front of them that includes games against Notre Dame, Utah, Arizona, Oregon and UCLA, so mounting frustrations aren't a shock. Fights spill out at football practices with some regularity, so the occasional scrap between teammates is hardly a novel concept.
But a fight in the tunnel after a game isn't a good look, and fair or not, it ultimately reflects on the coaching staff and Sarkisian. As Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports noted about the loss, "For a coach who needed to get off to a good start to mute a lot of the growing skepticism about whether he can handle this job, this is one of the last things he could afford."
He can hardly afford players fighting immediately following losses. If this was an isolated incident, it will be brushed under the rug, but if it was indicative of more deeply rooted issues in the locker room, it could be a very long season for Sarkisian and the Trojans.
