Chad Baker-Mazara’s USC run ended in a way that still didn’t make sense to a lot of people, even after he left Auburn and landed with the Trojans. Now there’s a lawsuit on the table that lays out his version of why it all blew up.
According to the California Post’s Edward Lewis, Baker-Mazara filed suit in Los Angeles on Monday against USC coach Eric Musselman, saying he was pushed out of the program after a February locker-room confrontation that he says turned “racially-charged.” USC dismissed Baker-Mazara the next day, when he was the team’s leading scorer.
The lawsuit says the clash came after USC’s Feb. 28 loss to Nebraska. Baker-Mazara claims Musselman yelled, “You shut the f-k up!
You are one of the worst teammates anyone can ever have!” in the locker room.
When Baker-Mazara asked if he should leave, he says Musselman fired back, “Yes, leave! Go back to the f-king Dominican Republic!
Nobody wants you here! F-k you!”
Baker-Mazara’s filing also says USC skipped an NIL payment and later tried to end the agreement by invoking a “morals clause.” The suit describes Musselman’s comments as “a direct attack on Baker-Mazara’s national origin and Dominican heritage, made from a position of authority and power by the Head Coach of the team, in front of all of Baker-Mazara’s teammates,” and calls the exchange “unprovoked, vicious, and discriminatory.”
He is suing for “breach of contract, conversion and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage,” according to the California Post. Baker-Mazara also says the dismissal hurt his NBA Draft stock. He went undrafted and is now on the roster of a team in Puerto Rico's top basketball league.
Musselman arrived at USC in 2024 after taking Arkansas to the Elite Eight twice in five seasons. The Trojans have missed the NCAA Tournament in both of his first two years.
Baker-Mazara’s path to this point has been a long one. He played six college seasons at five schools, including stops at Duquesne and San Diego State, plus a junior college stop along the way.
Last season, he was one of college basketball’s older players and became a lightning rod at Auburn. He was ejected from Auburn’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Yale in 2024 and picked up another ejection against Alabama in 2025, but he also played a major role in the Tigers’ run to the Final Four under Bruce Pearl.
At USC, he was putting up 18.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game on an injury-hit team before the late-season dismissal.
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