Former USC Player Josh Shaw Finally Explained Why He Jumped Off A Balcony And We’re Still Confused

Josh Shaw had a crazy couple days back in August. One day, he’s a hero, saving a drowning nephew and injuring both ankles in the process. The next day, the world finds out he was lying and there was no drowning kid, no heroic rescue and the truth was Shaw busted both ankles jumping off a balcony. Cancel the Josh Shaw parade around the Rose Bowl!

The story just kind of stopped after that and Shaw never really gave a reason, at least not publicly, as to why he jumped off a balcony when there were perfectly good steps not that far away. Shaw finally came clean in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. He was just afraid of the cops.

And as it turns out, Shaw didn’t jump off the balcony to help anyone. Instead, he claims he did it because he saw police arrive outside of an apartment building after he got into an argument with his girlfriend Angela Chilton and feared for the worst. So he decided to jump off the balcony to avoid getting into trouble.

And remember — innocent people ALWAYS run. Actually, they don’t, but Shaw lost his mind in the heat of the moment and started thinking about…Ferguson?

“We just got into an argument just like every couple does. Was it loud? Yes. Was it overly loud? I don’t think so,” he told the Times, before revealing that his girlfriend left the apartment after the fight. “We were not on good terms when she left. I thought she had somebody call authorities. I was thinking the worst. If she did say anything, I’m a black man with dreadlocks, and with everything going on in the country at the time, all that stuff in St. Louis [Ferguson, Mo.]…in my mind, I’m going to leap from the balcony so authorities did not see me.”

Ok, sure, but if you jump off the balcony it doesn’t stop making you Josh Shaw. The police will still come looking for you. They don’t quit looking after one place. It also doesn’t look very good for your “I didn’t do anything defense.” If you’re innocent, stick around to tell your side of the story. It’s hard to say “that’s not true” when you’re too busy running for the hills.

So Shaw bailed, lied to USC about his ankles, made up the story about saving his nephew and the rest is one big clusterfudge. Shaw hasn’t played a snap of football since.

H/T Complex

Chris Illuminati avatar
Chris Illuminati is a 5-time published author and recovering a**hole who writes about running, parenting, and professional wrestling.