Former Player Sues USC And Lane Kiffin

Brian Baucham, who played cornerback from the Trojans from 2008-2012, filed suit yesterday against USC and then-coach Lane Kiffin, alleging they forced him to play in a game when he was already ill, causing him to suffer "cardiopulmonary damage, as well as brain injury with neurocognitive deficits."

Baucham filed the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday, and alleges that he was suffering from "an influenza-like illness, viral pharyngitis and dehydration," and recovering from a concussion, when he was forced by Kiffin to play in a game against Cal on Sept. 22, 2012. Baucham says he collapsed in the second half of the game, and was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

"The excessive fluid pumped into the plaintiff caused an overload of fluid in his lungs requiring a ventilator to breathe for him for a number of days," the suit says. "Brain imaging by CT scan revealed that plaintiff had sustained a brain injury and had bleeding into the brain."

Baucham didn't play football again, and his suit alleges that USC attempted to revoke his scholarship.

Baucham claims USC and Kiffin acted with negligence, and is seeking unspecified damages. In a statement, USC AD Pat Haden declined to comment on any pending lawsuits, citing privacy laws. Kiffin, now the OC at Alabama, declined comment as well.