USC Complains About ABC's Musburger

LOS ANGELES — Southern California formally complained that ABC-TV's Brent Musburger disclosed privileged information in play-by-play commentary during Saturday's game against Nebraska. The university sent a letter to ESPN, which oversees sports programming on ABC, saying Musburger, with less than 10 minutes to play and the Trojans leading 21–10, began describing how USC quarterback John David Booty lets receivers know he has spotted a certain kind of coverage.

"John David told us that his signal when he finds one-on-one and they're coming, it's that ‘hang loose,' that familiar sign you've seen surfers use," Musburger said, referring to the sign where the thumb and little finger are raised.

USC sports information director Tim Tessalone sent a formal complaint to the ESPN/ABC game producer, Bill Bonnell, on Monday and sent a copy to the Pacific-10 conference office.

"We're supposed to be partners in this, but this is certainly going to make us think twice about trying to help them have as good a broadcast as possible," Tessalone said. "What he did was unconscionable."

Last Friday, announcers and producers met with coaches and star players as part of their game preparation. During the meeting, there was discussion about how a replay showed Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith tapping the top of his helmet to let receiver Ted Ginn Jr. know he's noticed one-on-one coverage.

Booty was asked if Southern California had a similar signal, and Booty told Musburger about his "hang loose" signal.

"We are very mindful of what we learn in pre-game meetings in terms in what is appropriate for broadcast and what is for our background.We're sorry this led to an unfortunate misunderstanding," ESPN said in a statement.