Phone calls contradicting the heroic story USC football captain Josh Shaw told about how he injured his ankles over the weekend were being looked into, Head Coach Steve Sarkisian said on Tuesday.
Shaw told coaches he was on a second-floor balcony Saturday when he saw his 7-year-old nephew struggling in a swimming pool. He allegedly jumped off the balcony, landed “painfully” on the concrete below, then crawled into the pool and helped the boy to safety.
The Trojan cornerback suffered two high ankle sprains, which will keep him off the field indefinitely.
On Tuesday, phone calls to the university were forcing officials to take a closer look at Shaw’s story.
“Within the last few hours or so we’ve gotten a few phone calls contradicting what Josh said occurred Saturday night,” Sarkisian said during a news conference Tuesday.
Sarkisian did not say who made the calls but said that “Josh is adamant with what occurred” and that there is no reason to doubt his story at this time.
“We’re looking at it,” Sarkisian said.
Shaw declined interviews on Tuesday stating that he would not be talking to the media until coaches finished vetting his story.