Josh Shaw, the University of Southern California cornerback who recently made headlines for claiming he injured both ankles after jumping from a second-story balcony to save his seven-year-old nephew from drowning, has admitted that he made the whole story up.
Shaw, a fifth-year senior who had just been named team captain, was promptly suspended from all football-related activities.
Shaw’s story claimed that he jumped from the balcony “instinctively,” and “with no one else around,” to rescue his nephew from a swimming pool in Palmdale, California.
He further claimed that he “would do it again for whatever kid it was.”
Which sure sounds like boasting, in hindsight.
The USC Trojan football program said it had received phone calls contradicting Shaw’s account almost as soon as he gave it.
Even more troubling is the possibility that Shaw really hurt himself because he was involved in criminal activity.
Here’s Shaw’s statement on the issue:
On Saturday, August 23, 2014, I injured myself in a fall. I made up a story about this fall that was untrue. I was wrong to not tell the truth. I apologize to USC for this action on my part.
Shaw’s attorney, David Etna, would not share how the cornerback had injured himself, except to say that the player fell from a balcony at the Orsini Apartments.
But there was some kind of an incident at the Orsini Apartments on the night of August 23rd, one that involved the police:
On August 23, at around 10:40 p.m., officers responded to a radio call of a screaming woman at the 500 block of Figueroa. They met witnesses who directed them to the apartment. After knocking on the door there was no response and officers made entry. No one was home. When they looked at the apartment they observed that the rear window had been pried open. Witnesses identified a male, black with dreadlocks leaving the apartment from the balcony. During the investigation the person who lives in the apartment returned and talked about her roommate and boyfriend, Josh Shaw, but he is not named as a suspect.
Shaw was expected to be a major contributor to the Trojans this season. The team hasn’t announced when he’ll be eligible to return.
