Unpopular Opinion: Give Reggie his trophy back

Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy should be given back to him.

In 2010, Reggie Bush voluntarily gave up his Heisman Trophy to the Heisman Trust because of rumors that they were going to take it away from him because of the incident in 2006.

What happened in 2005 you ask? Let’s take a trip down memory lane shall we.

In 2005, Reggie Bush was the star running back for the USC Trojans. The Trojans had won12 games that past season and both Reggie Bush and QB, Matt Leinart were finalists to win the Heisman Trophy.

Bush carried the ball 200 times and rushed for 1740 yards and 18 touchdowns. With those numbers even today, any running back would be in talks to win the Heisman.

Bush eventually won the Heisman Trophy. About a year later, allegations surfaced regarding some NCAA policies that were linked to Bush’s name and his family.

Bush was accused of accepting over $300,000 in cash and gifts from a sports agent named Lloyd Lake and his business partner, Michael Michaels. These included hotel stays, a home that the Bush family didn’t pay for and a limo ride and suit for the Heisman ceremony.

In 2010, the NCAA concluded the investigation and instituted major consequences for both Bush and USC. Some of the consequences include being banned from bowl games in ’10 and ’11, vacating their final two wins in ’04, which included the Orange Bowl, and all their wins in ’05. In addition, USC lost 30 scholarships over the next three years.

USC came out a month after these consequences and said that everything with Bush’s name on the campus would be removed and he wouldn’t be allowed to affiliate with the school for ten years.

I agree that he broke the rules and just like in everything else, there should be consequences. But forfeiting probably the most coveted trophy in college football? I mean, that seems a little bit harsh.

He was a football start and people wanted to help him out. I don’t see what the big deal is in that.

Honestly, I’m surprised it took the NCAA this long to let college athletes accept gifts and endorsement deals. That’s another thing. It’s not like he was going out and signing million-dollar deals and making a whole bunch of money.

I’m sure there have been hundreds of college athletes who have accepted something that they didn’t know they weren’t supposed to. Whether it was a ride to school, a lunch paid for by a coach or a handful of other things.

Like I said, I agree that there needs to be consequences for our actions, but I disagree with how the NCAA and the Heisman Trophy Trust handled the situation.

Threatening to take Bush’s Heisman is like threatening to take away all of his hard work, dedication and commitment that he put into his team in helping them win.

There was speculation that the trophy would be given back to Bush when the NCAA approved athletes getting endorsements and deals, but nothing ever came of it.

I wish something would have.

I don’t think it’s right to hold a player’s past mistakes over their head by one threatening to take away a trophy just so he would do it willingly, and two, not giving it back just to save face.

Something I also want to point out that I don’t think gets enough attention is that Reggie Bush earned that trophy fair and square. He beat out his own quarterback and college football great quarterback, Vince Young to win the Heisman.

And what does he get for breaking a couple rules that had nothing to do with his athletic ability? He gets to give up the most well-deserved trophy in all of college football. Right, seems fair.

A tiny bit of information that other people might not know is that when Bush forfeited the trophy, they offered to give to first runner-up Vince Young and then third place, Matt Leinart. Both denied taking the trophy.

The NCAA doesn’t care about its athletes. They only care about two things: How much money are the athletes making for the NCAA and if the students are following the rules.

Sources

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/* inline tdc_css att */.tdi_97{margin-right:30px !important;margin-bottom:0px !important;}/* custom css */.tdb-post-meta{ margin-bottom: 16px; color: #444; font-family: 'Open Sans', et al. “Why Was Reggie Bush's Heisman Trophy Revoked?” Pro Football Network, 7 Dec. 2021, https://www.profootballnetwork.com/why-was-reggie-bush-heisman-trophy-revoked/.