Senior cornerback Josh Shaw admitted to USC on Wednesday that he lied about how he injured his ankles.
Shaw originally claimed he tried to save his 7-year-old cousin from drowning on Saturday. He suffered high ankle sprains and claimed he jumped from the second story of an apartment complex to reach his cousin.
Then on Tuesday, the school revealed it was investigating Shaw's claims, which it said was for "due diligence" and not because they didn't believe the drowning story.
Now it appears the story turned out to be fabricated after all, USA Today reports.
"We are extremely disappointed in Josh," Steve Sarkisian, USC football coach, 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."
Sarkisian said that the senior defensive player apologized for lying and has been suspended indefinitely.
His lawyer, Donald Etra, released a statement on Shaw's behalf, in which the team captain admitted to lying about the story. Etra said that Shaw suffered the ankle sprains after he fell from a balcony that night.