USC’s Haslip Sues Testing Service, Seeks Damages Over Disputed Score

USC football player Ken Haslip Jr. has filed an $8-million federal lawsuit against Educational Testing Service for damages he says he suffered when it invalidated his college entrance test score.

Haslip, a redshirt freshman defensive back, won his arbitration case against ETS in August, which allowed him to return to the playing field after a year. The arbitrator ruled ETS lacked substantial evidence when it claimed Haslip had copied answers from a student. ETS is the clearinghouse for Scholastic Assessment Tests.

In the suit, filed by attorney W. Anthony Willoughby in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Sept. 29, Haslip claims in part that ETS’ actions resulted in his losing his football scholarship and being evicted from his dormitory room on campus. Haslip says he also was prevented from competing on the men’s track team. He has played in every game for USC this season.

Haslip was investigated by ETS after an unidentified “test user,” presumably an NCAA school, reported to ETS that Haslip had cheated to obtain his passing score of 780 on his SAT exam. Haslip had failed on three previous attempts to qualify.

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USC expects to petition the NCAA early next week to restore the eligibility of running back Shawn Walters, said Robert Lane, the school’s general counsel. Walters will be the last of three former Trojan starters linked to sports agent Robert Troy Caron to have his case heard by the NCAA eligibility committee. The others are Israel Ifeanyi and Errick Herrin.

Walters, who allegedly received $15,900 in cash and other benefits from Caron, has been suspended since Sept. 28.

The eligibility committee also will hear an appeal Thursday or Friday from USC in another case involving Ifeanyi, a Trojan defensive end who was suspended for two games for accepting money from fellow Nigerians.

Ifeanyi, also suspended for two games for his involvement with Caron, played against Notre Dame last Saturday after obtaining a court order temporarily blocking the NCAA from sanctioning him. That order is in effect until Nov. 2 and Ifeanyi can play Saturday against Washington, no matter how the eligibility committee rules.

Times staff writers David Rosenzweig and Elliott Almond contributed to this story.