Not sure how to feel about THIS one.
Decades after he was at Southern Cal and starred there – make no mistake about it – and earned his Heisman Trophy on the field, former Trojans running back Reggie Bush, who had his trophy taken from him for what happened off of it, has had it returned (Reggie Bush gets Heisman Trophy back 14 years after forfeiting).
Bush’s trophy, removed from him by the Heisman Trust in 2010 after he was investigated and found guilty of major NCAA violations while at USC, was returned to him by the trust this week, and a replica of the trophy returned to the university.
In addition, Bush, who was basically ostracized from Heisman activities, will be welcomed back with open arms, it was noted.
In the story above, a report by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Bush had a statement – one that reads this way: “Personally, I’m thrilled to reunite with my fellow Heisman winners and be a part of the storied legacy of the Heisman Trophy, and I’m honored to return to the Heisman family. I also look forward to working together with the Heisman Trust to advance the values and mission of the organization.”
This is a little editorializing by yours truly.
You just have to wonder – I know we’re in the name, image and likeness era (NIL). But Bush’s wrongs were documented, and found to have happened almost 20 years ago.
Why are they somehow whitewashed, and found to be inconclusive, or suddenly irrelevant, now, simply because the rules have changed?
This, from Thamel’s story:
“As rules allowing athletes to be compensated for their name, image and likeness were enacted in 2021, Bush began lobbying for his trophy to be returned. He released a statement in July 2021 that included criticism of the Heisman Trust, including Comerford not returning Bush’s calls,” Thamel writes.
And more:
“There had been a flurry of recent support from Heisman winners for Bush to get the trophy back. The most public came from former Texas A&M star Johnny Manziel, who said earlier this year that he would skip the Heisman Trophy ceremony until Bush’s trophy was returned. Both USC’s Matt Leinart, Bush’s former teammate, and Notre Dame‘s Tim Brown are Heisman winners who have been outspoken publicly about Bush’s trophy being returned.”
So that’s great, right, for Bush? That fellow Heisman Trophy-winners want him to get his trophy back and also to be recognized. And no one is denying Bush won the trophy, or that he deserved it. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
As a Trojan, he ran for 1,740 yards on 200 carries in the 2005 season, had 2,890 all-purpose yards that year, and scored 42 total touchdowns in two seasons.
From Michael Comerford, President of the Heisman Trust: “We are thrilled to welcome Reggie Bush back to the Heisman family in recognition of his collegiate accomplishments,” Comerford said in a statement. “We considered the enormous changes in college athletics over the last several years in deciding that now is the right time to reinstate the trophy for Reggie. We are so happy to welcome him back.”
OK. So all is forgiven. Hopefully lessons were learned.
I’m not sure.
