A Los Angeles jury Monday rejected former USC assistant football coach Todd McNair’s defamation lawsuit against the NCAA.
The Los Angeles Superior Court panel, which began deliberations anew Thursday with a new member, voted 9-3 to reject McNair’s claims that he was defamed by statements made by the NCAA infractions and appeals committees and by NCAA President Mark Emmert.
Outside the courtroom, NCAA attorney Kosta Stojiklovic declined to comment on the merits of the case, but said he appreciated the hard work put in by the jurors. He said McNair’s attorneys were good to work with and that it was regrettable both sides could not get the results they wanted.
Both Stojiklovic and McNair’s attorney, Bruce Broillet, patted the 52-year-old plaintiff on the back in consolation as they left the courtroom.
The jury began deliberating on May 14 and the foreman said the next day that the panel was at an 8-4 impasse.
Last Thursday, Judge Frederick Shaller dismissed a juror who said her command of English was making it difficult to take part in deliberations. The panel, with an alternate in place, deliberated for a half-day on Friday and another half-day on Monday before reaching a decision.
McNair played football for the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns before being hired in 2004 by USC, where he spent six seasons coaching Trojan running backs under former head coach Pete Carroll. But his contract was not renewed after the NCAA alleged in a report that McNair knew about star player Reggie Bush’s relationship with two sports agents, San Diego sports marketers Lloyd Lake and Michael Michaels, who were providing Bush with benefits, according to his lawsuit.
McNair alleged the NCAA cost him his job and derailed his career after he was wrongfully punished in the Bush case. He received a show-cause penalty from the NCAA, meaning that he had to receive permission from the NCAA for any recruiting he did for one year.
McNair, who filed his lawsuit in June 2011, maintains that he was unaware of Bush’s relationship between Lake and Michaels and that the NCAA committed misconduct in its investigation.
The NCAA’s court papers say McNair’s statements were contradicted by Lake.