Marinovich’s Father Is Accused of Berating Fan

USC is looking into complaints that Marv Marinovich, father of quarterback Todd Marinovich, berated a fan during last Saturday’s game at the Coliseum, a USC athletic official confirmed Friday.

Marv Marinovich allegedly lashed out verbally at the fan, who had derided Marinovich’s son and called for a backup to replace him. USC received two letters about the incident, one from the unidentified man who allegedly was confronted by Marinovich, and another from fans who sat nearby and said they had witnessed the confrontation.

“Apparently, they had their own opinions on who they were rooting for as far as the quarterback (was concerned),” said Jim Hefner, an assistant athletic director at USC and director of game management. “From what I can gather, there was a verbal display of emotion from both people--mostly from Marv.”

A source who spoke with several eyewitnesses said Marinovich pointed at the man and loudly cursed him. Asked about the allegations, Marinovich at first denied that he was involved, but later said he had words with several fans.

Angry words?

“Well, yeah, sure,” he said.

The crowd’s negative reaction to his son upset him, he said. “What’s the big deal about it?” Marinovich said. “Could any parent sit up there and listen to that kind of crap? Not me. What would you do if somebody was booing at your son for no reason?”

It has been confirmed that Todd Marinovich was held out at the start of last week’s game as punishment for arriving late to a team meeting on the morning of the game. When he did arrive, he was locked out of the meeting by Ray Dorr, who coaches USC’s quarterbacks.

Marinovich will start today’s game at Oregon State, Coach Larry Smith said Friday.

Senior Shane Foley was USC’s starter in last week’s 31-31 tie with California but was replaced by Marinovich after leading the Trojans to a touchdown and a 7-0 lead in their first possession.

The younger Marinovich, suspended a week earlier for cutting class, was greeted by scattered boos, which became louder and more prevalent as the Trojans fell behind, 24-10, in the third quarter.

Later, after he had passed for 291 yards and two touchdowns, Todd Marinovich told reporters: “I thought we were playing at Cal.”

Said his father: “I was definitely upset when fans were booing, no question about that. I have never seen booing like that in a college game. To me, it was utterly ridiculous, particularly (by) the people who don’t know anything about what they’re booing.”

Marv Marinovich said he had not been contacted by USC. It is possible that Marinovich will be moved to another section of the Coliseum for the Trojans’ final home game, but Hefner said: “I want to get both sides of it before I make any decision on that.”