USC has settled a lawsuit with a former athletic department official who alleged the university allowed former athletic director Mike Bohn to racially harass and discriminate against him, then fired him when he raised concerns about Bohn’s behavior.
Joyce Bell Limbrick was the chief black and women’s officer in USC’s athletics department when she was fired by the university in September 2023, four months after Bohn resigned amid an internal investigation into her conduct and the department’s culture. Bell Limbrick filed a lawsuit early last year, accusing USC of wrongful termination.
That dispute was settled out of court this week. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
When reached by The Times, Bell Limbrick declined to comment. Bohn has never spoken publicly about the allegations.
Although the case never went to trial, it provided detailed information about the conduct that led to Bohn’s resignation.
Bell Limbrick filed a Title IX complaint with the university against Bohn in October 2022, after an incident in which she said Bohn hit her in the arm at a USC volleyball game. That complaint eventually prompted an investigation, when, according to her complaint, Bell Limbrick told USC officials “of Bohn’s history and rumors of inappropriate and unwanted contact involving … other women in Cincinnati and at USC.”
The university hired an outside law firm that specializes in responding to allegations of racial and sexual harassment and discrimination to investigate Bohn five months later. The Times learned of that investigation shortly thereafter, as well as a previous investigation into Bohn’s conduct in Cincinnati, and in May, questioned both Bohn and USC about those concerns.
Bohn resigned a day later.
Soon after, the university fired Bell Limbrick, citing “egregious misconduct.” He was the only member of the 11-member executive board to lose his job and, according to the complaint, had recently been awarded “certainty” for his “overall performance.”
Bell Limbrick worked at USC for nine years, initially as director of athletics compliance, before Bohn was hired in 2019. Shortly after becoming athletic director, Bohn promoted Bell Limbrick to associate director, one of the highest positions in the department. According to her complaint, she was one of the few Black women to hold this position at a major American university.
“Ms. Bell Limbrick had a successful career at USC and loved her job. Then came Mike Bohn,” said her attorney, J. Bernard Alexander, in a statement in 2025.
“[Bohn’s] The constant, racist comments made Joyce feel uncomfortable and unimportant, but more than that – it alienated her from the management team and undermined her work. She was already vulnerable as the only black woman on the team, and instead of supporting her, the university allowed Bohn to make her life hell. “
Her complaint details inappropriate comments made in front of USC patrons and staff, as well as insensitive or racist remarks made in her presence. At the time, The Times spoke to six people with knowledge of the inner workings of the department who largely corroborated what he was saying about Bohn’s behavior.
Bohn declined to answer The Times’ questions about his conduct as head of the athletic department, but provided a statement to The Times on the day of his May 2023 resignation that he “will always take pride in leading this program through some of the most tumultuous times in the history of the department.”
“Moving forward, it’s important now that I focus on being with my precious family, dealing with ongoing health challenges, and thinking about how I can make an impact in the future,” Bohn said in a statement.
