Gary Gosnell has sued USC, men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman and assistant coach Will Conroy over a September 13 encounter on a Manhattan Beach shoreline. The New York Post and Yahoo Sports reported details of the allegations; they remain claims in a lawsuit, not findings by a court. The Post’s report and Yahoo Sports’ report are the cited accounts here.
What Gosnell alleges
Gosnell says the confrontation aggravated PTSD symptoms he had experienced before the incident. He alleges it brought fear, anxiety, nightmares and persistent hypervigilance, and left him afraid to return to the beach or encounter people wearing USC apparel, according to Yahoo Sports.
He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, statutory damages and civil penalties, along with attorney’s fees and costs. Gosnell also accuses USC of failing to supervise Musselman adequately, alleging the university knew or should have known the coach was prone to hostile verbal outbursts, Yahoo Sports reported.
The complaint’s supervision claim refers to a separate dispute involving former USC guard Chad Baker-Mazara. Baker-Mazara sued USC and Musselman over an alleged rant and the university’s handling of his NIL payments, according to Hoodline’s report; Yahoo Sports also reported that Gosnell’s complaint invokes the earlier matter.
Account of the beach encounter
The Post reported that Gosnell was livestreaming on his Gary’s Metal Detecting YouTube channel at about 10:30 a.m. while using a metal detector near a USC team photoshoot. The lawsuit says Conroy asked him to move. Gosnell alleges he replied that he was passing through and would leave after finishing, and that the beach was public.
Gosnell alleges Conroy threatened him, then Musselman approached across the sand, shouted profanities and threatened that someone should assault him. He says the coaches backed away after he told them he was recording. These details were reported by the New York Post and Yahoo Sports.
Responses
USC and a representative for Musselman did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the Post reported. The Post also reported that Musselman had previously said he should have handled the beach situation better and would learn from it. The article states that USC’s 2026-27 season is scheduled to open with an exhibition against North Carolina in Greensboro on October 9.
