Jim Mora says his campus safety remark wasn't a dig at USC

UCLA coach Jim Mora says comments he made on a radio show about UCLA not having murders near campus weren't directed at USC.

When Mora appeared on Roger Lodge radio show to discuss recruiting, he pointed out the safety of UCLA's campus by saying "we don't have murders a block from our campus."

Which might seem like a pointless and confusing remark if the murder of two Chinese grad students near the USC campus in April hadn't become international news. Of course, after practice on Thursday Mora said that his comments weren't directed toward USC.

“I just said our campus is safe,” Mora told the Los Angeles Times. “I didn't say anything about anyone else's campus. I just said it about our campus. I didn't mention another campus. We don't have anybody getting murdered a block off of our campus.

“If anybody, whether USC or Cal State San Bernardino, is offended by the statement, then that's their insecurity, not mine.”

Mora also told reporters he wasn't even aware of the murders at USC.

Personally, I don't believe him. I think Mora was very much aware of what he was saying when he said it. If he wasn't, then why the hell would he have brought up murder in the first place?

Do all college football coaches present the parents of recruits with campus murder rates?

I also think that what Mora did was reprehensible. I'm fine with coaches attempting to stoke the fires of a rivalry, it's part of what makes this sport fun, but this crosses a line.

Frankly, I find Mora trying to use the murder of two USC students as a recruiting advantage to be disgusting.