And now we know a little more of the rest of the story, and it’s potentially serious for one member of the USC football program.
Monday night, Clay Helton revealed that Osa Masina has been suspended for his team’s season opener against Alabama this weekend. The head coach gave no specific reason or reasons for the sanctions being placed on the linebacker, although a school official subsequently described it as an unspecified violation of team rules.
However, the FOX affiliate out of Salt Lake City is reporting that Masina, a Utah native, is being investigated over sexual assault allegations. The probe stems from an alleged incident or incidents that allegedly took place over the summer in Salt Lake County.
From the television station’s report:Cottonwood Heights Police have confirmed the ongoing investigation but have not released details about the alleged crime.
Cottonwood Heights PD, with the help of the Los Angeles Police Dept., served a search warrant last week at a USC practice facility in Los Angeles.
At this point, no charges have been filed. All questions to Masina’s parents were referred to the defense attorney representing their son.
Masina (pictured, left) was a five-star 2015 recruit who was the top-rated player at any position in the state of Utah. He played in 12 games as a true freshman last season and was credited with 25 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, with the highlight of his first year as a Trojan coming on a fumble return for a touchdown in the season-opening win over Arkansas State.
On the preseason depth chart released a week ago, Masina was listed as a backup to starting inside linebacker Michael Hutchings.