In the most bizarre story to come out of the Pac-10 Tournament so far, USC Trojans Men's Basketball coach Kevin O'Neill is reportedly under investigation for a drunken altercation with an Arizona Wildcat fan. O'Neill, who was the interim coach at U of A in 2007-08, and his wife were apparently at a hotel where they had the encounter the resulted in their being removed from the building. The incident happened just hours after USC beat Cal 70-56 on Thursday.
"We have received some information [Thursday night] about an incident involving coach Kevin O'Neill, his wife and a fan from another school that occurred following our men's basketball game today," USC athletic director Pat Haden said in the statement. "We are looking into this and gathering facts. We will determine what appropriate action is necessary."
According to the web site PointGuardU.com, "O'Neill and his wife were in a hotel lobby of the JW Marriott and visibly intoxicated when they exchanged words with a group of Arizona fans. O'Neill reportedly threatened the fan that USC was going to 'beat the hell out of Arizona.' Words were exchanged and our sources say that O'Neill's wife struck one of the Arizona fans."
USC is scheduled to play Arizona in the Pac-10 semifinals today at 7:00 p.m. local time.