So about that USC player we hailed for jumping from a second floor balcony and spraining his ankles to save his drowning nephew?
Well, he lied. Like seriously lied. And now Josh Shaw is suspended from the team indefinitely.
On Wednesday, Shaw admitted to school officials that he fabricated the hero story and lied about his ankle injuries. If you recall, USC publicized the story of Shaw saving his nephew, who was struggling in the pool, by jumping off the balcony. But in the wake of his bust, Shaw released the below statement through his attorney, Donald Etra.
“On Saturday, August 23, 2014, I injured myself in a fall,” the statement said. “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.”
The cornerback was immediately disciplined.
“We are extremely disappointed in Josh,” USC Coach Steve Sarkisian said in a statement. “He let us all down. As I have said, nothing in his background led us to doubt him when he told us of his injuries, nor did anything after our initial vetting of his story.”
Pat Haden, the Athletic Director for the university, said he was disappointed in Shaw’s admission because he found him to be a “very credible kid.”
“Right now, what we know is we have a kid that fabricated a story, period,” Haden said.
The university, however, remained mum about how Shaw actually injured himself. Etra declined to discuss details surrounding the injuries, but did confirm that the football player hurt himself when he fell off a balcony at the Orsini Apartments in Los Angeles last Saturday night.
But according to the LA Times, Shaw was named in a police incident report from Saturday night.
The Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday that Shaw’s name was in a report from an incident that occurred at the Orsini complex on North Figueroa Street Saturday about 10 p.m.
Officers arrived on the scene to check on a report of a woman’s screams from a third-floor unit, police said. No one answered the door, so the officers forced entry. No one was inside.
A neighbor reported seeing a man run across or scale a balcony, and gave a general description of the individual. Later, as officers interviewed a female resident of the complex, they told her what the one witness had seen. She responded, “Sounds like my boyfriend, Josh Shaw,” said Lt. Andrew Neiman, an LAPD spokesman. The woman also told the officers Shaw was at dinner with friends, Neiman said.
Shaw resides at the Orsini with Kevon Seymour, a junior cornerback on USC’s team.
The police say Shaw is not a suspect in any crime. However, an LAPD official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to comment on the situation, said authorities were attempting to work through USC to speak with Shaw and his girlfriend.
Whatever the real story, Shaw’s teammates are confused about the tall tale, defending his character to the media.
“We were pretty shocked because Josh Shaw is a pretty loyal guy since he’s been here,” said junior defensive end Leonard Williams. “I would never expect him to make up a story or something like that. So if it’s real or not … I would never expect him as a captain to be in that situation.”
Others anonymously commented on Shaw’s embarrassing lie.
“It’s a surprise to all of us,” said one. “It’s wrong timing for the program, but we have to focus on Saturday. I’m praying for Josh and praying he’s OK at the end of all this.”
Said another: “Josh Shaw has been a top-notch dude since the day I got here. He’s not a guy I’d pick off a roster to lie like this.”
So in short…
And now, Shaw’s future in football at USC is unknown. Damn, homie.
SOURCE: LA Times | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
