Ad Disclosure
Former USC assistant coach alleges he was fired after reporting potential NCAA violations
Published:
USC’s athletic department has once again surfaced in the news under less-than-ideal circumstances.
According to the Los Angeles Times, former USC assistant defensive quality control analyst Rick Courtright is claiming that he was fired from his position after reporting potential NCAA violations to the school’s compliance office. Courtright has filed a lawsuit against USC for his firing.
Courtright’s lawsuit claims that he overheard two graduate assistants talking about a plan to have students take online courses for them. Defensive coordinator Pendergast is also mentioned for allegedly discussing setting up payments to students who would take the graduate courses for the assistants.
Per the Los Angeles Times, Courtright alleges that he saw money change hands between Pendergast and one of the graduate assistants, who then passed it along to an unnamed student. The incident was reported in June 2017.
Courtright claims that after he notified the compliance office, he became a target of workplace mistreatment.
In May 2018, Courtright was given the option to resign or be fired, prompting his resignation.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB