A USC football player is recovering from injuries he sustained while rescuing his 7-year-old nephew from a pool at an apartment complex in Palmdale, the university said Monday.
Josh Shaw, a senior, was attending a family event at his cousin’s home on Saturday when the incident occurred, according to USC’s website.
Shaw was on a second-floor balcony when he looked down at the pool and saw his nephew, who cannot swim, “in distress without help nearby,” the school said. He then reportedly jumped off the balcony, landed “painfully” on the concrete below, crawled into the pool and helped the boy to safety.
Shaw’s nephew was described as “traumatized” but uninjured. The Trojan cornerback was transported to a hospital and later diagnosed with two high ankle sprains, which will keep him off the field indefinitely, officials said.
Update: Phone Calls Contradict USC Football Player’s Rescue Story
“I would do it again for whatever kid it was. It didn’t have to be my nephew,” Shaw said on Monday. “My ankles really hurt, but I am lucky to be surrounded by the best trainers and doctors in the world.”
He said he was approaching his rehabilitation “one day at a time” and hoped to resume playing football soon.
Steve Sarkisian, the USC’s head football coach, described Shaw’s actions as “heroic.”
“It’s been in Ohio as early as the mid-1850s at least, brought in as an ornamental plant because of its unique foliage and white flowers,” Gardner said. “It was actually planted in people’s landscaping, and it has been spreading.”
“It is unfortunate that he’ll be sidelined for a while, and we will miss his leadership and play, but I know he’ll be working hard to get back on the field as soon as possible.”
The student-athlete was named a team captain Saturday at the Trojans’ annual Salute to Troy dinner, the university said.