Former USC football player sues university, teammates for alleged 2020 assault
A former University of South Carolina football player says in a lawsuit that he was assaulted by a mob of teammates and basketball players in 2020 but the school did nothing about it.
Kamarah Reynolds-Hall, who had played football at Ridge View High School in Columbia, was admitted to USC on an academic basis and was selected as a walk-on for the Gamecocks in 2020. It was his dream school, he said in an interview, and it was a dream to play football for the team.
On Aug. 23, 2020, Reynolds-Hall was “lured” to 650 Lincoln, a university-affiliated student apartment complex, to be attacked by several student-athletes on the football and basketball teams, according to the lawsuit. The suit was filed by Reynolds-Hall himself, not by a lawyer.
Reynolds-Hall told The State he hadn’t previously met his alleged attackers, but that night they began to argue. He said they accused him of stealing something, and after the players tried to resolve the conflict, they began assaulting him in the hallway of the apartment building. He tried to get away, Reynolds-Hall said, but they followed him down a stairwell into the parking garage attached to the apartment building.
Video footage from 650 Lincoln, which was shared with The State by Reynolds-Hall’s father, show several people assaulting a man. The person being assaulted isn’t identifiable, but Reynolds-Hall says it is him.
Reynolds-Hall reported the assault to the university’s police department on Aug. 27, 2020, according to the lawsuit. and then the department waited four days to file a report in an effort to “conceal” it, despite the “egregious and violent nature” of the crime.
Travis Hall, Reynolds-Hall’s father, said they never heard back from police.
A letter obtained by The State from the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, which was dated Dec. 23, 2020, and addressed to the USC police department, said the office received and reviewed an investigative report about the alleged assault by USC football players and determined that no course of action was needed.
“In my legal opinion, there is not enough probable cause to charge anyone with a criminal offense at this time,” wrote Deputy Solicitor Daniel Goldberg.
The State has filed a public records request for additional police documents related to the incident.
He was never formally or informally kicked off the team, Reynolds-Hall told The State. But at his first practice, just as he was about to do position drills, he was informed that he was being put on suspension and that the team would “handle things.” It was based off of what the players had told football staffers about the incident, which was false information, Reynolds-Hall said.
“My first day of practice was actually my last,” Reynolds-Hall said.
After that, Reynolds-Hall said, he withdrew from USC. He didn’t finish the semester because of how the police were handling things, he said.
“It was good that I did that,” Reynolds-Hall said. Once the public was made aware of the incident through a media report, he said, the university and its fans tried to make him look like a bad guy. It ruined his reputation and his character.
“It felt like they villainized me,” Reynolds-Hall said. “It felt like they retaliated against me and my family.”
The attack, the lawsuit said, caused a head injury, psychological distress and non-economic damages. Reynolds-Hall is asking for the defendants to pay a total of $1.95 million in damages, as well as court costs and fees. He is also asking that they be punished with any civil penalties allowed by law.
“(The university was) protecting their players,” Reynolds-Hall said. “They were protecting their scholarship guys. ... It was almost like they were trying to cover up the situation and keep us on the hush.”
USC is continuing to hinder Reynolds-Hall’s athletic opportunity, the lawsuit claimed, without providing details. He attempted to play for the football teams at Coastal Carolina University, Erskine College and South Carolina State University. He now plays at Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina.
USC declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Reynolds-Hall filed the lawsuit Aug. 22, nearly three years after the incident occurred. It was filed before the three-year statute of limitations expired. But Reynolds-Hall and his family are still looking for a lawyer, Hall said.
“We could not find anyone .... because of relationships or whatever that they had with the university,” Hall said.
It is unusual for private citizens to file lawsuits without an attorney, a kind of self-representation called “pro se.” Of the cases filed in federal court from 2000 to 2019, only 27% had a pro se plaintiff, according to U.S. Courts.
Another lawsuit filed by Reynolds-Hall in 2022 accused USC of defamation. In its legal response, the university denied any wrongdoing. That case has yet to be decided.
This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 10:23 AM.
