Apartment City

Josh Shaw is the man who fell to earth. From a second- or third-story balcony, not in Palmdale, Calif., but near downtown Los Angeles , onto an unforgiving surface. From team captain for the University of Southern California (USC) football team to indefinitely suspended player . From hero to fabulist. At some point between last Saturday evening and Monday afternoon Shaw , a fifth-year senior and starting cornerback for the Trojans, found his way into the training room in the John McKay Center on USC’s campus. The Palmdale, Ca. native required treatment after suffering high-ankle sprains in both legs. And at some point before entering the McKay Center, Shaw concocted a lie – an elaborate and heroic tale– to explain how those injuries had been sustained. Shaw’s story, not unlike its author, eventually landed with a mighty thud. “I made up a story about this fall that was untrue,” Shaw said Wednesday in a statement released through his recently hired attorney , Donald Etra. “I was wro...

Getty Images Updates from Wednesday, Aug. 27 USCTrojans.com's Jordan Moore has the latest on Shaw's story: USC senior cornerback Josh Shaw came to USC athletic department officials this afternoon (Wednesday, Aug. 27) and admitted that he had lied about how he suffered his ankle injuries over the weekend. He said that the story he told of rescuing his nephew in a pool in Palmdale, Calif., was a complete fabrication.  He apologized for misleading his coaches, teammates, athletic department officials and the public. "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 ...

LOS ANGELES – The heroic tale of USC cornerback Josh Shaw rescuing his nephew from drowning turned out to be a lie. What exactly happened that night, causing Shaw to injure both of his ankles, remains unclear. Shaw admitted to school officials Wednesday afternoon that he fabricated the story posted on USC’s website, ending a two-day whirlwind of rumors and speculation. Shaw was suspended indefinitely from all team activities. “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. “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.” ...