USC's Havili Suspended After Altercation With Teammate
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USC fullback Stanley Havili was suspended Friday for his involvement in a fight with T.J. Bryant that resulted in Bryant having surgery on his left cheekbone Thursday.
Havili did not participate in Friday's practice or in any other team-related activity, according to coach Lane Kiffin.
"I didn't let Stanley in any of the meetings or walkthroughs this morning or practice today," Kiffin said. "I continue to be very disappointed in Stanley's decision making."
Kiffin said he decided not to let Havili participate despite pleas from Bryant.
"T.J., after hearing later on about the reason for not letting Stanley participate, begged me to let Stanley come out here," Kiffin said. "But we just don't condone this behavior."
The incident in question happened during an offseason workout on July 30. Kiffin said Havili and Bryant had a disagreement that became increasingly heated and escalated into violence, resulting in the broken cheekbone.
Havili refused to say Thursday whether or not he had punched Bryant in the face, but all indications are that he did not. Bryant had no noticeable injuries to his face when Kiffin saw him on Monday, which suggests that it wasn't a punch but something else that led to the broken bone.
"I saw [Bryant] Monday and Tuesday," Kiffin said. "I didn't notice anything. He didn't mention anything and he was ready to go. At the time we thought he was practicing."
By NCAA rules, coaches are not allowed to attend offseason workouts, which, according to Kiffin, makes it harder to assess the confrontation between his players.
"The way that I see it, it is very difficult, because it's a situation where we are not allowed to be there," he said. "It's hard to monitor it, finding out that it happened and how it happened...It's just very disappointing".
Kiffin admonished Havili for escalating a verbal confrontation "to the next level," adding that he believed Havili was at fault for the altercation. He has not set a timetable for Havili's return to the practice field.
"I'm still thinking about it," Kiffin said when asked about the length of Havili's suspension. "I'm just keeping him away right now. I know that that hurts him and it should. He needs something to hurt him for his actions."
To reach reporter Ryan Nunez, click here.
Sports editor Patrick Crawley contributed to this report.
