Reggie Bush, the former electrifying running back for the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, will officially get his Heisman Trophy back.
The Heisman Trophy is college football’s highest award which is annually bestowed to the nation’s most outstanding player. Bush earned the award and lifetime honor in 2005 when he ran for 1,740 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground and caught for 478 receiving yards and two touchdowns for the USC Bruins.
However, following an intensive and comprehensive NCAA probe, investigators found that Bush and his family were the beneficiaries of impermissible gifts, money, a car, and a home. He was eventually ordered to return the Heisman, which he did in 2012.
Bush is ecstatic to reunite with what he always believed was rightfully his.
“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,” Bush told ESPN.
On his Instagram page, Bush relayed that nothing that God has given you can be taken away.
The Heisman Trophy board had a change of heart regarding Reggie Bush
Heisman Trophy Trust president Michael Comerford conveyed the board’s sentiments that it was time to give back the award to Bush in tight of the new rule in college that enables players to now profit off of their own name, image, and likeness (better known by the acronym NIL). The board was nudged towards that decision by multiple former Heisman winners advocating for Bush, most notably ex-Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.
“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,” Comerford said.
“Recognizing that the compensation of student-athletes is an accepted practice and appears here to stay, these fundamental changes in college athletics led the Trust to decide that now is the right time to return the Trophy to Bush, who unquestionably was the most outstanding college football player of 2005.”
