Man files lawsuit against USC, coach Eric Musselman after beach altercation during Trojans photoshoot

The man who was involved in a heated beach dispute with USC men’s basketball coach Musselman last month has filed a lawsuit against both the coach and the school.

Gary Gosnell, who runs a popular YouTube channel, “Gary’s Metal Detecting,” filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on Monday, according to the California Post. Gosnell said that Musselman verbally berated him in Manhattan Beach on Sept. 13, and that he suffered “severe emotional and psychological distress” and “a significant deterioration of his health.”

“I know the responsibilities that come with my role, and while I was trying to step in and support my coach, I definitely should have handled this situation better and will learn from this for the future,” Musselman said of the incident in a statement last week.

“I know the responsibilities that come with my role, and while I was trying to step in and support my coach, I definitely should have handled this situation better and will learn from this for the future,” Musselman said of the incident in a statement last week.

Gosnell was walking along the shore in Manhattan Beach on the morning of Sept. 13 while using a metal detector across the beach. He ended up walking near a photo shoot for the Trojans’ basketball team. That’s when Gosnell said that assistant coach Will Conroy approached him and tried to get him to move. 

“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 said.

After Conroy threatened him, Gosnell said that Musselman jumped in and started “screaming profanities” in his face. 

“Musselman shouted at Mr. Gosnell to ‘[s]hut the f**k up,’ called him a ‘f**king d***head,’ and threatened that ‘[s]omebody should f**king drop you ass is what should happen,'” the lawsuit said. 

The incident ended soon after. Gosnell filmed the encounter, too. 

Gosnell, 57, said that he has undergone three spine surgeries, a knee surgery and multiple foot surgeries. He has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and “holds a disabled person parking placard.”

He is suing both Musselman and Conroy, claiming that the two caused him “severe emotional and psychological distress, including fear, anxiety and humiliation.” He also said that it led to a resurgence and aggravation of his PTSD symptoms.” Gosnell is also suing USC, claiming that the school should have supervised Musselman better.

“USC knew or should have known that Musselman had a propensity to engage in unprovoked, profane, hostile, and intimidating verbal outbursts directed at others,” Gosnell’s lawsuit stated, “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.”

“USC knew or should have known that Musselman had a propensity to engage in unprovoked, profane, hostile, and intimidating verbal outbursts directed at others,” Gosnell’s lawsuit stated, “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 incident came just before a separate lawsuit was filed against Musselman and USC regarding former star Chad Baker-Mazara, who left USC during the final stretch of the regular season last spring. He claimed that Musselman went off on a “profanity-laced, racially-charged” tirade against him in the locker room. 

Musselman was hired to take over at USC before the 2024-25 campaign after spending five years at Arkansas. The Trojans went 18-14 last season, and have yet to make the NCAA tournament under his watch. 

USC will open the season against Milwaukee on Nov. 2.