The University of Southern California has suspended cornerback Josh Shaw indefinitely after he admitted to fabricating a heroic tale that explained his sprained ankles.
Shaw has been suspended indefinitely from all of the Trojans' team activities after acknowledging his heroic tale was "a complete fabrication," the school announced in a statement Wednesday.
"The school didn't explain how Shaw actually was injured, but USC officials say they regret posting a story on their website Monday lauding Shaw's story about a second-story jump onto concrete to rescue his 7-year-old nephew.
" 'We are extremely disappointed in Josh,' USC coach Steve Sarkisian said. '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.' "
Shaw originally said he jumped from a second-story balcony because his nephew was drowning. Shortly thereafter, Sarkisian said he received calls questioning the veracity of the tale.
Campus authorities investigated and by Wednesday night, Shaw released a statement.
"On Saturday August 23, 2014, I injured myself in a fall," Shaw said, according to CBS. "I made up a story about this fall that was untrue. I was wrong not to tell the truth. I apologize to USC for my action on this 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."
Even before Shaw admitted to his lie, there was lots of speculation of how exactly he was injured. That question still has no answer.
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