Maualuga Embarrassed by Incident

USC linebacker Rey Maualuga, who could face criminal charges stemming from an incident in which he allegedly punched a man at a party this week, said Thursday that he had embarrassed himself, his family and teammates.

“What I did, or what happened, that’s not me at all,” said Maualuga, a freshman who has been demoted to the scout team and is unlikely to play Saturday against Stanford.

Maualuga, 18, was arrested and booked on suspicion of misdemeanor battery early Tuesday morning. Bail was set at $20,000, but he is free on his own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 22.

“What happened, happened,” said Maualuga, who added that he could not discuss details of the incident.

Maualuga said he had not hired an attorney but would “if it comes down to it.”

Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, said Thursday that the Los Angeles Police Department had not delivered its report of the incident. The city attorney will review the report once it is received and will decide whether to file charges.

Maualuga, from Eureka, Calif., missed a practice last week to visit his father, who is seriously ill. Asked whether his father’s health situation affected his behavior on the night of the alleged incident, Maualuga said, “I just had a whole lot on my mind.”

Maualuga will be in uniform Saturday. Coach Pete Carroll said he had made a decision about Maualuga’s playing status but would not divulge it.

Junior safety Darnell Bing, a captain, said the team’s leadership committee thought it best that Maualuga remain with the Trojans while his legal situation played out.

“He happened to make one mistake and you can tell by his actions now that he really regrets it,” Bing said.

“We just decided to let him stick around and hopefully he’ll pretty much understand what he did was wrong and won’t have to go through anything like this again.”

*

Linebacker Thomas Williams did not practice because of a groin injury, but said he would be able to start Saturday. Freshman Brian Cushing would start at the strong-side position if Williams didn’t.