Josh Shaw Jumped Because He's a "Black Man with Dreadlocks" and Because of "All That Stuff in St. Louis"

Remember Josh Shaw? The USC defensive back who was a team leader and ticketed as a future NFL draft pick … until that fateful August night he jumped off a balcony following an argument with his girlfriend and badly sprained both ankles.

Shaw famously told the world that he injured his ankles jumping off a balcony to save a nephew that was drowning.

Whoops.

With dizzying speed, he went from hero to goat.

The truth came out, Shaw was suspended, and prosecutors opened an investigation. Shaw’s been mum – until now. He spoke with Bill Plaschke of the LA Times:

"“We just got into an argument just like every couple does,” Shaw said. “Was it loud? Yes. Was it overly loud? I don’t think so.” Shaw remained in the apartment until he heard noise below his balcony. He walked outside to see police cars pulling up on the street. Shaw and Chilton adamantly deny the argument ever became physical — “I would never, ever hit a woman,” Shaw said — but he worried about appearances."

So Shaw jumped, in flip-flops, and when he landed, he thought he broke both legs. He crawled out of there, called a relative, and went into hiding. That’s when he concocted what he thought was an “air-tight” plan.

"Shaw said he was confident the story would sail, and so Sunday morning he relayed it to USC officials, who ordered him to visit the hospital for X-rays. When he found out his legs weren’t broken, he said he began regretting his plan. He said if he had known he only had high ankle sprains, he never would have gone to great lengths to hide it. Before taking the field, Shaw was asked directly by Coach Steve Sarkisian whether the story was true. He told him yes."

Then reports of the police incident started to surface, and it all snowballed on him, and Shaw came clean to USC, which by this point knew he made it all up.

The only real mystery in all this? Why are law enforcement officials and the University still “investigating?” What’s left to sort out? Shaw still lives with his girlfriend. Why isn’t he back on the field?