USC's 49-30 victory over Louisiana on Saturday came with a bleacher brawl between fans that broke out in the stands at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Video circulating online shows two fans in USC jerseys squaring off and trading punches before a crowd of other spectators piles into the scrum.
Video Shows Fan in Maiava Jersey Getting Charged by Crowd
The clip, described by the New York Post, shows one fan wearing a No. 14 Jayden Maiava jersey heading up the Coliseum stairs as other fans throw more punches at him and charge after him up the steps. A woman wearing a USC hat is seen intervening, pushing the Maiava-jersey fan away from the fray and backing him up the stairs to safety, according to the same report. The Post's account describes the sequence of events caught on camera.
The footage was also shared online with a caption referring to it as a beautiful night for an altercation. The station TotalProSports reported that the game drew an announced crowd of 60,019 to the Coliseum, and that the win marked USC's third consecutive victory of the season, improving the Trojans to 3-0.
Alcohol-Fueled Fights Reported Amid Trojans' Big Night
On the field, the Trojans were rolling. Trent Mosley hauled in a touchdown catch for Southern California, and Maurion Eleam was defending against Mosley during the second half of the contest, per the Post's reporting. Off the field, a social-media caption referred to alcohol-fueled fights during the game, though the dossier does not specify further detail on that reference.
The scuffle arrives five years after USC Athletics reinstated public beer and wine sales at the Coliseum for the 2021 season, ending a 17-year prohibition that USC had instituted in 2004; former USC President Steven Sample discussed the rationale in a 2005 letter and remarks, according to the Los Angeles Times. USC Athletics guidelines restrict public alcohol sales to fans 21 and older, cap purchases at two drinks per transaction, and cut off sales at the end of the third quarter.
What Happens Next for Fans Caught Fighting
Details about the Coliseum's fan-behavior reporting system and Fan Code of Conduct, including any penalties for violations, are not provided in the supplied sources.
Under California Penal Code Section 242, battery involves offensive touching, according to the supplied legal guidance, but the sources do not establish the specific classification or penalties. If a stadium fight results in serious bodily injury, legal guidance from Eisner Gorin LLP notes prosecutors can instead file aggravated battery charges under Penal Code Section 243(d), a wobbler offense carrying up to four years in state prison for injuries like broken bones or concussions.
The supplied sources do not document specific earlier fan-conduct incidents at the Coliseum. It remains unclear whether stadium security or law enforcement made any ejections or arrests tied to Saturday's fight.
