The Real Reason Ting Left the Trojans

USC safety Brandon Ting, above, quit the team Friday along with his twin brother, Ryan, and the reason given was a noble one: the players wanted to concentrate on the demands of their medical school ambitions. Now we know the real reason Brandon quit: He tested positive for steroids, according to the L.A. Daily News and L.A. Times, and would not have been eligible anyway. What makes this even more interesting is that Arthur Ting, father of the twins, is a Bay Area orthopedic surgeon who has reportedly appeared as a witness before a grand jury considering possible perjury charges against baseball's Barry Bonds, one of Arthur's clients. Credit goes to Bruins Nation, in its watchdog role over the crosstown rival, for pointing us to an exit interview the Tings gave to We Are SC. In that piece, Ryan said he received death threats (yes, plural) after he failed to make an interception in the BCS title game against Texas. Also of interest is that Ryan said he and his brother quit visiting the message boards after the loss to Texas, yet we would like to point out that they decided to use that forum to spread the word of their academic plans trumping athletic endeavors. Now it appears the We Are SC interview was merely an attempt to create a smokescreen, wouldn't you say? The remaining question we have is why Ryan also quit. The loss to USC won't be on the field because the Tings were merely contributors and not frontline players. What hurts, besides the p.r. hit, is that the team GPA is sure to take a tumble.