University of Southern California head men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman has found himself wrapped up in even more controversy, this time courtesy of the man he argued with during a team activity on Manhattan Beach in September.
Gary Gosnell, a treasure hunter who was exploring the beach with his metal detector, is suing the Trojans coach, alleging the argument resulted in “severe emotional and psychological distress” and “a significant deterioration of his health,” according to court documents obtained by the California Post.
The September 13 incident was captured on video as Gosnell, 57, was livestreaming for his “Gary’s Metal Detecting” YouTube channel. In the video, Gosnell appears to walk through the background of a group photo the USC basketball team was attempting to take. A USC staffer then began arguing with Gosnell before Musselman, 61, stepped in and began berating him.
The lawsuit alleges that Musselman “advanced approximately sixty feet across the sand toward Mr. Gosnell while screaming profanities and came right up to Mr. Gosnell’s face. Musselman shouted at Mr. Gosnell to ‘[s]hut the f*** up,’ called him a ‘f***ing d***head,’ and threatened that ‘[s]omebody should f***ing drop your ass is what should happen.’”
“Mr. Gosnell explained that he was simply passing through and would move on once he finished what he was doing, noting that it was a public beach and that he could be wherever he wanted to be,” the lawsuit continues.
The lawsuit also claims Gosnell has “undergone three spine surgeries, a knee surgery and four foot surgeries,” and “holds a disabled person parking placard.”
The day after the altercation took place, lawyers for former USC player Chad Baker-Mazara filed a lawsuit on his behalf regarding a separate incident during which Musselman allegedly went on a “profanity-laced, racially-charged post-game locker room tirade” at the guard before dismissing him from the team last season.
Gosnell is also suing USC, which he believes should have better supervised Musselman amid Baker-Mazara’s allegations.
The university “should have known that Musselman had a propensity to engage in unprovoked, profane, hostile, and intimidating verbal outbursts directed at others and that this propensity created a particular risk that Musselman would verbally abuse, threaten, and intimidate persons with whom he interacted in the course of his duties, including members of the public encountered during team activities,” the lawsuit argues.
Gosnell is seeking to “recover compensatory damages, punitive damages, statutory damages and civil penalties, attorney’s fees, and costs of suit.”
Musselman has not commented publicly on the lawsuit but issued a statement to the California Post apologizing for the altercation after the video was made public.
“I know the responsibilities that come with my role and while I was trying to step in and support [the USC staff member], I definitely should have handled this situation better and will learn from this for the future,” he said.
