USC Cornerback Josh Shaw Admits to Fabricating Story
Video by Ani Ucar, Rachel Kohn and Matthew Tufts
Shaw originally claimed that he jumped from a second-floor balcony to save his nephew, who was drowning. Shaw admitted that the story was a complete fabrication, and apologized for misleading his coaches, teammates, athletic department officials, and the public.
Shaw released a statement through his attorney, Donald Etra.
"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. My USC coaches, the USC Athletic Department, and especially coach Sarkisian have all been supportive of me during my college career and for that, I am very grateful."
He has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities.
"We are extremely disappointed in Josh," said USC head football coach Steve Sarkisian. "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."
"I appreciate that Josh has now admitted that he lied and has apologized. Although this type of behavior is out of character for Josh, it is unacceptable. Honesty and integrity must be at the center of our program. I believe Josh will learn from this. I hope that he will not be defined by this incident, and that the Trojan Family will accept his apology and support him."
Shaw was named a captain for the upcoming 2014 season, and was supposed to start at cornerback.
