The reports come a day after Sarkisian suspended cornerback Josh Shaw for lying about ankle injuries from the weekend, claiming he had jumped from a building to save a 7-year-old nephew from drowning.

The Trojans face Fresno State on Saturday in their first football game of the season, Sarkisian’s first with the team. 

Sarkisian’s announcement came as media members swarmed the school over the Shaw story.

According to one report, Sarkisian was taken by surprise by Brown’s decision.

“It’s ridiculous. Any of you guys that know me, ask any of our players,” he said. “That’s the furthest thing from the truth. I had encouraged him to play. I thought he could play. I didn’t want him to quit.”

Brown switched to running back this season from cornerback. Before being moved to running back, he made six starts at cornerback. He likely would have been well down the depth chart had he started in the secondary.

Brown posted a photo on his Facebook page with a message: “Couldn’t play for a racist man.” He added: “Sark treated me like a slave in his office.”

He also posted on Instagram. However, the posts were later deleted, according to media reports.

Reports from USC beat writers said Sarkisian announced Brown’s decision to the assembled media.

There also were reports that Antwaun Woods, a nose tackle, posted Twitter comments in support of Sarkisian. So did linebacker Scott Starr and running back Marc Tyler. Players were not allowed to speak with media members on Thursday, per team rules.

Sarkisian also was quoted as saying:

“Anthony decided not to play football anymore. We obviously tried to encourage him not to quit. We thought he could be an asset to our team, especially when healthy. We really tried to make it a point to accommodate the position change he wanted. He wanted to move to running back and we did so.

“He unfortunately got injured in training camp and was working his way back and decided he didn’t want to play anymore. It’s a bit unfortunate because we could have used him. We think he could have helped us.”

Sarkisian said his concern is with the team, not on quelling the brushfire created by Brown and Shaw.

“I’ve got over a hundred guys in that locker room that are as important or more important than these two isolated incidents,” he said. “I owe it to those guys to do the best job that I can do to prepare our staff and to prepare them to play a great football game on Saturday, and that’s what my focus is on.”

TIDE LB SUSPENDED

Alabama linebacker Trey DePriest is suspended for the season opener against West Virginia.

Coach Nick Saban said Wednesday night that DePriest will serve a one-game suspension for a “minor NCAA infraction.” He’ll return for the second-ranked Crimson Tide against Florida Atlantic.

Saban did not elaborate. Reuben Foster and Reggie Ragland will start the West Virginia game in Atlanta at inside linebacker.

He says both those players got extra practice repetitions during preseason camp with DePriest missing a number of practices with a knee injury.

Saban says that gave the Tide an opportunity to prepare other players to relay the defensive signals on the field. He says DePriest’s suspension was “not something that we anticipated.”

DePriest is a preseason first-team All-SEC pick who had 65 tackles last season.

HEELS SITTING 4

North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said Wednesday the team has suspended four players for this weekend’s season opener, a day after a report of an alleged hazing altercation that left a redshirt freshman walk-on receiver with a possible concussion.

Fedora said the four players were suspended for a “violation of team policy,” but offered no other details about what rules were broken. The players suspended were sophomores Des Lawrence and Brian Walker, redshirt freshman Donnie Miles and true freshman M.J. Stewart.

North Carolina has said it is conducting an investigation of what it described as an incident involving members of the team. That statement was released in response to a Yahoo Sports report, but did not confirm it was a hazing incident.

“We’re going to hold all of our guys accountable for everything they do on the field and off the field,” Fedora said after the afternoon practice. “And we also have very high expectations for guys in this program, and they didn’t meet those expectations.”

Fedora said he didn’t know if the investigation being conducted by the school’s office of student affairs was complete. He said he didn’t anticipate any more players would be suspended for violations that he said took place early in preseason camp.

The Yahoo Sports report stated that the alleged hazing involved several players and occurred in a room at the hotel where the team stayed for preseason camp.

Chapel Hill Police Lt. Josh Mecimore said Wednesday that his department had received no report from that hotel for an incident involving football players and that there was no active investigation.

Lawrence and Walker were listed as starting cornerbacks on the depth chart for the No. 23 Tar Heels. Walker has three starts in his career, while Lawrence was to be a first-time starter.

Stewart was listed behind Lawrence, while Miles was a backup at the “Ram” position — a hybrid role in North Carolina’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme.

The Tar Heels open their third season under Fedora on Saturday night against Liberty. It marks the first time UNC has opened the season ranked in the Top 25 since 2010.

Contributors: Ray Slover, The Associated Press