USC, Lincoln Riley end practice access for reporters for rest of season

Lincoln Riley’s run-ins with the media are well documented.

In fact, Awful Announcing’s archives are filled with them. So, please make no mistake: Riley has seemingly always viewed the local and national media as adversaries, dating back to his days at Oklahoma. This is the same Riley who saw his USC Trojans program suspend a reporter’s credentials for two weeks in 2023, only to relent after backlash.

Now, if Riley had qualms with Paul Finebaum, well, that’d be understandable.

But he seems to have greater issues with the local media.

This season, the Trojans head coach insisted there was “no story” about Bear Alexander’s usage, only for the defensive lineman to redshirt and announce his intentions to enter the transfer portal a day later. That’s typical college football head coach behavior, but what isn’t atypical is when, a week later, he was panned for telling a reporter to ask a more professional question after said reporter asked for a player’s opinion on something.

But now, things seem to be getting even more restrictive.

The latest chapter involves the abrupt decision to cancel all media viewing periods at practice for the rest of the season. Sure, interviews will still be available after practice on designated days, but this complete blackout during practice is a stark departure. According to The Los Angeles Times Ryan Kartje, USC’s reasoning is rooted in the “team period” needing to come first in practice—a scheduling tweak that apparently doesn’t leave any room for media observation.

Riley seems to be on a mission to block access to as much context and narrative-building as possible, ostensibly to protect the team, but, in reality, it limits reporters’ ability to provide transparency and perspective for fans.

USC had previously allowed the media to view brief portions of practice—minutes, not hours. Contrary to the idea that this doesn’t matter, this small glimpse is standard at programs nationwide. Maybe not in Norman when Riley was there, but in other places around the country? You bet.

As ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg pointed out, when USC was at its peak under Pete Carroll, it was the most open program in the country. They didn’t care who watched them practice; they welcomed it and still dominated on game day.

The Trojans’ success had nothing to do with shielding practices from reporters, and Riley’s new restrictions won’t change that.

USC being 4-4 isn’t the result of a few minutes of media access, and clamping down on transparency only feeds the perception that Riley wants to deflect scrutiny rather than face it head-on.

It’s hard to justify that this is merely an attempt to get a 4-4 program back on its feet by changing routine rather than an attempt to silence the media. Riley certainly won’t prevent articles critical of the program from getting out there, but he’s doing what he can to prevent the necessary context and background—and, in turn, prevent people from doing their jobs.