Police confirm USC players involved in downtown brawls

Spokane Police have confirmed two University of Southern California basketball players were involved in a series of fights that left four people hospitalized last week. Spokeswoman Monique Cotton said in an email that police are not releasing the names of the players involved as they have not been arrested or charged. The university however announced the suspension of 7-foot-1, 260-pound James Blasczyk and 7-foot, 255-pound Dewayne Dedmon from all team activities because of a violation of team rules. Cotton said the department is in contact with the university and will be sending two detectives to California to further investigate the incident. The USC Trojans were staying in Spokane following a 76-51 loss to Washington State University in Pullman on March 9. Noel Macapagal, an employee and former owner of The Wave Island Sports Grill and Sushi Bar, said the brawls apparently started early on March 10 after an argument between the players and an employee of The Wave inside the Marquee Lounge at 522 W. Riverside. Macapagal said one of the employees was knocked out cold, a female employee suffered a broken nose and another had a broken jaw. The fight broke up, but Macapagal joined the employees and they later located the players at the Satellite Diner at 425 W. Sprague Ave. He said one of the players started hitting people in a crowd outside the restaurant, and a bystander got knocked out. “The player was kicking the guy who was down,” Macapagal said.