When Reggie Bush had his Heisman Trophy taken away for receiving benefits while playing college football from agents who wanted to eventually represent him, the trophy never was re-awarded. That should make it easy to give it back to him.
Now that the floodgates for getting paid by would-be agents have finally flown open, Bush should definitely get his Heisman Trophy back.
Bush said last November that it should be returned. We agreed then, and agree even more strongly now.
In a statement issued Thursday, Bush said that he and his team have reached out on multiple occasions to the Heisman Trust regarding the return of the Heisman Trophy, and that the NCAA also has been contacted about the reinstatement of his college records.
His efforts have gone nowhere. Bush said he was ignored by the NCAA, and that the Heisman Trust said that “they could not help us.”
“It is my strong belief that I won the Heisman Trophy ‘solely’ due to my hard work and dedication on the football field and it is also my firm belief that my records should be reinstated,” Bush said.
He’s absolutely right. The action taken against Bush flowed directly from the phony notion of amateurism that has justified, for decades, not sharing billions in revenues with players. That wall has now imploded, at least as it relates to money made separate and apart from the relationship with the university.
So do the right thing, NCAA. It will help atone (albeit slightly) for all those years of doing the wrong thing.