There was a short period of time where USC senior cornerback Josh Shaw was considered a hero. After all, he admitted to jumping from the second story of an apartment complex to save his 7-year-old nephew who was struggling in a pool. Unfortunately, Shaw suffered a pair of high ankle sprains during his heroic rescue.
Or was it?
On Wednesday, Shaw admitted that he made the entire story up. His confession came after the school received numerous calls from investigators questioning the validity of his story.
USC head coach Steve Sarkisian was disappointed in his senior cornerback and released a statement that read, “We are extremely disappointed in Josh. 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.”
So what happened exactly? At this time, there is no specific information as to how Shaw actually injured himself. And the university did not elaborate any further on the matter.
In an interesting twist, shortly after USC released their statement, Shaw retained an attorney, Donald Etra, and released his own statement that read, “I made up a story about this fall that was untrue. I was wrong not to 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.”
The question is, why did Shaw feel the need to retain legal counsel?
On Wednesday night, officer Jane Kim of the Los Angeles Police Department said that Shaw was mentioned in a report that involved a break-in on Saturday night at a downtown apartment building — but Shaw was not a suspect.
In an interview with ESPNLA.com, Kim said, “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.”
Another source told ESPNLA.com that witnesses told police that a man matching Shaw’s description was seen jumping from a three-story balcony at the Orsini Apartments where Shaw’s girlfriend lives.
Shaw’s attorney also admitted on Wednesday night that his client’s injury occurred after he fell off the balcony at the Orsini Apartments on Saturday night. But he also said that there was nothing criminal about his behavior.
“My understanding is that there is nothing criminal about this whatsoever,” Etra said in an interview with ESPNLA.com. “There is no criminal activity whatsoever.”
When Etra was asked why Shaw felt the need to hire an attorney, he replied, “Intelligent people hire lawyers.
If asked if he would try to get Shaw reinstated on the team, Etra said, “If he asks my advice, I’m certainly ready, willing and able to give it.”
In the end, there seems to be so much more to this story that we don’t know yet. And right now, the end result doesn’t look too good for Josh Shaw.