Gilbert Areans rips USC basketball over Chad Baker-Mazara situation

On Sunday, USC men’s basketball announced the stunning departure of star Chad Baker-Mazara from the program. While a reason for the decision was not announced, there have been notable rumors of the Trojans dismissing Baker-Mazara due to a number of conduct issues.

The decision certainly drew a strong reaction, both from those close to USC and nationally. Following the news, Gilbert Arenas, the former NBA player and father or USC freshman Alijah Arenas, posted a video on social media (the video has since been deleted). In it, he bashed the Trojans for the Baker-Mazara situation, demanding that they apologize and bring him back to the team in order to preserve hopes of an NCAA Tournament run.

Obviously, Arenas is entitled to his own opinion. But having a parent of a player publicly ripping the team’s coaching staff is never a good thing for a program. And the fact that said parent is a former NBA player with a significant social media following only makes things worse.

As for the NCAA Tournament, USC’s hopes are basically dead at this point, with or without Baker-Mazara. Head coach Eric Musselman now faces the challenge of navigating this messy situation as he looks to establish a winning culture in Los Angeles and put together a better team for next season.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Gilbert Arenas unhappy with USC men’s basketball, Chad Baker-Mazara