USC football player Josh Shaw is quite the storyteller. The defensive back made national headlines back in August when he told university officials he sprained both his ankles while trying to rescue his drowning nephew. 

"I didn't think it could be proved that story was not true,” Shaw told the Los Angeles Times.

However, in the days that followed, his story unraveled as media outlets such as TMZ began digging for the truth. And the truth wasn't pretty.

It was learned that Shaw injured his ankles when he jumped off his girlfriend's balcony in downtown Los Angeles. He was named in a burglary report, and the police also opened a domestic violence investigation.

Now, Shaw is telling his un-fabricated story to the Times in an exclusive interview. He explained that after arguing with his girlfriend, she left the apartment. Apparently, the couple was arguing too loud, and a neighbor called the authorities. When he walked onto the balcony and looked down, he saw police cars and decided to do the irrational thing: jump.

"I was thinking the worst,” Shaw said. “If [his girlfriend] 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.”

While police having been handling the domestic violence investigation, Shaw has missed six games. It is unknown if he will return back to the field.

To read the full interview, click here.