USC Trojans' Lincoln Riley Addresses Controversial Decision to Close Practices from Media

USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley spoke Tuesday about why he decided to close practice to media for the remainder of the season. Riley has received backlash for making this decision.

Oct 19, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley stands outside the lockeroom before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley has been receiving backlash for the Trojans' performance on the field in their disappointing 4-4 start to the season. Now, add something off the field to the list. 

USC announced Monday that no more media would be allowed at practices for the remainder of the season. Previously, media members were allowed to observe the first few minutes of practice. No more of that.

What was Riley’s reasoning for this?

Lincoln Riley Addresses Decision to Close Practices

Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; A general overall view of United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during the playing of the national anthem before the game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Southern California Trojans. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The first question USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley was asked after practice on Tuesday why he decided to close practices off from the media for the rest of the season.

“Evaluated some things last week,” Riley said. “Made some changes to the way we are handling pre-practice with the short week.”

USC had a short week when they hosted Rutgers in their last outing. The Friday game threw off some practice and media availability times. With USC winning big and snapping their three-game win streak, it does not sound like Riley wants to change anything in the lead up into that game.

“We liked how our team handled it and responded to it,” Riley said. 

He’s not wrong. USC came out on fire and immediately took a 21-3 1st half lead. From there, USC held off a Rutgers comeback and tacked on some late touchdowns to pick up a comfortable 42-20 win.

“With that, we are continuing forward with a lot of the things we did last week,” Riley said. “It just didn’t make sense to have it, honestly.”

Riley didn’t have any more comments on the decision.

Oct 19, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley stands outside the lockeroom before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Riley and USC Face Criticism for Closing Practices

This is not the first time Lincoln Riley has decided to close his team’s practice from reporters and media members. Per On3, Riley shut down media access when he was coaching at Oklahoma during a quarterback controversy between Caleb Williams and Spencer Rattler in 2021.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg had a very fair criticism of Riley, citing how dominant USC teams in the past didn’t care about media being at practice.

USC was the most open program in the country when it was the most dominant, under Pete Carroll. Didn’t care who watched them practice. They’d still kick ass. https://t.co/LVjOWTcCR0

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) October 29, 2024

If USC lost to Rutgers, would this still be happening? Is it possible it’s a superstitious decision because the Trojans won? Maybe the team just performs better in the week of preparation when they aren’t being watched by reporters. 

One thing is for sure: if USC turns this season around and runs off five straight wins to end the year, most USC fans will not care about whether practices are closed or not.  

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