Running back Anthony Brown quit Southern California’s football team, and coach Steve Sarkisian was stunned Thursday by Brown’s apparent accusations of racism against him on social media.
A photo of the words ‘‘Couldn’t play for a racist man!!!!’’ was posted on what USC said was Brown’s Instagram account. The posting was later deleted.
‘‘Sark treated me like a slave in his Office,’’ was posted in the caption to the photo, along with the hashtag ‘‘Fighton.’’
Sarkisian was told about the apparent posts from Brown, who is black, shortly after USC finished practice Thursday. The visibly disturbed coach called them ‘‘ridiculous,’’ saying Brown had shown no indication he felt slighted or insulted in their relationship.
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‘‘If you ask anybody in our building, any of our players . . . that’s about the furthest thing from the truth,’’ Sarkisian said. ‘‘Quite honestly, I’m shocked.’’
Brown’s acrimonious departure is another blow to a program already reeling from the bizarre saga of cornerback Josh Shaw, who was caught in a lie about the circumstances in which he sprained both of his ankles last weekend. Shaw has been suspended indefinitely.
Brown is a senior who played cornerback for the Trojans until this year, starting two games in each of his first three seasons. He played in only two games last year because of ankle injuries.
He switched positions to running back for his senior year, but Brown missed most of training camp with a hyperextended elbow.
‘‘I had encouraged him to play,’’ Sarkisian said. ‘‘I wanted him to play. I didn’t want him to quit, and I thought he could get healthy.’’
Sarkisian said Brown asked the coaches to allow him to play running back this season, and the staff agreed with his move to a talent-rich position at Tailback U. After missing most of camp, he is listed sixth on USC’s depth chart.
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Several current Trojans, as well as Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Matt Leinart, immediately jumped on social media to defend Sarkisian.
‘‘Coach Sark is who we all believe him to be,’’ USC receiver George Farmer posted on his Twitter account. ‘‘Accusations like those couldn’t be more untrue.’’
As for Shaw, Sarkisian believes he shares blame with the athletic department for publicizing the cornerback’s fictitious story about injuring his ankles while saving his nephew from drowning.
Sarkisian also said Shaw could ‘‘potentially’’ return to the Trojans this season.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that a man named Joshua Shaw was mentioned — but not as a suspect — in a report involving a break-in at a downtown apartment building Saturday night.
Hill powers Aggies
Kenny Hill broke Johnny Manziel’s single-game passing record at Texas A&M with 511 yards, and the No. 21 Aggies beat No. 9 South Carolina, 52-28, ending the Gamecocks’ 18-game home win streak. Hill’s performance in his first career start proved there is plenty of life in the Aggies’ offense without Manziel, now with the Cleveland Browns. Hill finished 44 of 60 with three touchdowns. He had the most passing yards allowed in Steve Spurrier’s 10 seasons with the Gamecocks. South Carolina gave up seven TDs on A&Ms first 11 possessions . . . Bo Wallace threw four TD passes and No. 18 Mississippi pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Boise State, 35-13, before a sparse crowd in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. Ole Miss held a 7-6 lead entering the fourth quarter . . . Dalton Easton threw a 37-yard TD pass to Chad Ward midway through the third quarter and Bryant racked up five sacks in a 13-7 win over host Stony Brook . . . Notre Dame added reserve safety Eilar Hardy to the list of players being withheld from practice and games as the university completed its investigation into whether they may have turned in homework and papers completed by others. The next step is for the five players to have hearings before the university’s code of honor committee . . . Virginia Tech gave coach Frank Beamer a two-year contract extension, through Jan. 1, 2019.
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