Charles Robinson and Jason Cole of YAHOO SPORTS report Tuesday:
The Heisman Trophy Trust is expected to strip former University of Southern California star running back Reggie Bush of college football’s top honor by the end of September, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Bush would become the first player in the 75-year history of the award to have the trophy taken away. The NCAA found major violations in the Trojans’ football program in June and levied serious sanctions against the school.
Two sources close to the Heisman trust said the body’s investigation is coming to a close, and will ultimately concur with the NCAA’s determination that Bush was ineligible during his Heisman-winning season in 2005. Because of that independent conclusion, sources said the trust will relieve Bush of the award and leave the honor for that season vacant.
Two factors outweighed all others, sources said: The Heisman ballot necessitates candidates be in compliance with NCAA bylaws and concern over the Heisman’s reputation in the wake of the NCAA findings against Bush
I’m all for stripping Bush of his Heisman Trophy, but the whole concept of needing to concur with the NCAA investigation and “concern over the Heisman’s reputation” is a farce.
If the Heisman’s “reputation” was reportedly a factor in vacating Bush’s award, why does O.J. Simpson still have his Heisman Trophy? Likewise convicted counterfeiter Billy Cannon?
And if you read the NCAA investigative report, it’s clear that though Bush technically (and egregiously) broke NCAA rules, the link between Bush’s extra benefits and USC actually knowing what was going on was murky at best.
No, what caused Bush to have his Heisman taken away was media documentation of his astonishing impropriety. Without Charles Robinson and Jason Cole reporting what Bush did, there’s a very good chance USC and Bush would’ve received zero penalties.
10:00 am on September 7th, 2010
OJ and Cannon had off the field issues. Bush broke rules within the game. If NCAA were to punish every player who won the Heisman but had issues later in life, or if any league was to punish any player that won and honor and had issues later in life (sometimes later that year!)…we’d be stripping guys left and right. If you won your honor within the confines of the game and did it the right way, you deserve to keep it no matter what. But folks like Reggie Bush, Connie Hawkins, McGuire, Sosa, Clemens (unfortunately Pete Rose too) have to take their lumps if they are breaking rules within the game.
10:08 am on September 7th, 2010
This whole thing is a scam. The Heisman Trust is trying to save face and avoid the public realations nightmare that would follow if they just told everyone Bush was keeping his trophy.
If they were so worried about the trusts reputation then why does Paul Hornung have his as rumors of cash payouts while at ND and the gambling scandel later in his career have been around for years.
10:27 am on September 7th, 2010
your implying that the Heisman reputation should be connected to the off the fields issues of OJ and Billy Cannon is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard on this sight, and I’ve heard a lot.
10:37 am on September 7th, 2010
I am pretty sure, Farce, that rumors should not be the basis for losing an award. Thanks for playing though. Stay in school.
10:55 am on September 7th, 2010
Can anybody tell me when Charles Woodson’s Heisman is going to be taken away too?
12:58 pm on September 7th, 2010
Don’t forget it was rumors that brought down Reggie Bush ! And I don’t think I’m the only who thinks he’s the only one whoever took “gifts from bosters” so now who’s being naive.
He’s being made an example of plain and simple to make the media feel good like they kept the sport clean.
1:48 pm on September 7th, 2010
Spot on….the fact that the murderer O.J. kept his is a disgusting abomination. Thank you for raising such a clear issue of common sense!
7:34 pm on September 7th, 2010
I am sitting wondering how reposession of Bush’s Heisman affects the sports world in any capacity…and I can’t find a single reason other than to bring shame on Bush.
If you really put things into perspective and look at the allegations of money, real estate and promises made in association with this scandal - I think Bush’s parents are more to blame than he is.
He does need some type of punishment, however, the punishment should actually fit the offense. Taking a Heisman is not appropriate enough. The University taking the hit for him is just unacceptable in my view.
Being that the Heisman is a cursed trophy anyways, I’m sure over half of the recipients would choose to give it back if it meant success at the next level.
If I was Bush, I would just send it back via UPS and move on.
7:37 pm on September 7th, 2010
On the OJ take.
If you take into account personal behavior - what would be the percentage of Heisman reposessions or any other award for accomplishment? I would say it would be very high.
Legally, OJ was found innocent (but we all know better). So how do you tell him, we believe you did it and we want our hardware back and not be told to F OFF?
In a parallel comparison, look at some of the characters that are voted All Team First Americans, should they lose that accomplishment for their personal behavior?
I think if you start taking hardware back for personal behavior - your opening a can of trouble with a capital T and there is no way to put the lid back on it once its done.
10:16 pm on September 7th, 2010
BullS@**!! This is like given someone blind sight and asking them to give it back. They should have done their investigation before given him the trophey!!!
10:16 am on September 8th, 2010
“Giving someone blind sight,and asking them to give it back”??? Huh? How? That doesn’t make any sense. How was Reggie Bush metaphorically blind and how was the Heisman Trophy metaphorically giving him sight? Anyway. Yes, saying the Heisman should take away the trophy from OJ for a crime he committed some twenty years later is just silly. Taking the Heisman away from Bush is also silly — and hypocritical — just because all of the big programs are guilty of this particular crime or some variation thereupon. Florida, Alabama, Texas, Michigan, Ohio State, you name ‘em, they’re guilty. If you dug deep enough, you’d find plenty of dirt on all of them and everybody knows it. The NCAA and the Heisman people remind me of Claude Rains in CASABLANCA: “I am SHOCKED, shocked to find gambling going on here!” “Your winnings, sir.” “Oh, thank you.”
2:36 pm on September 8th, 2010
Just when are you folks gonna wake up ???? OJ didn’t do it……
Bryant Gumble did it…..Ya see, Bryant was sleeping with the Waiter, and he sees his dearly beloved with this Blonde Bitch, and flying into a rage, he screams, “Die Deborah Norville”. and stabs the crap outta both of them…..
Then, flipping them over, he realizes his mistake, “Oh wow, it’s OJ’s ole lady….Hey !! My Brother Greg has always coveted OJ’s Sportscasting slots….since Greg has had a long affair with Cato, the houseguest, they get onto the Estate to plant evidence and drop beaucoup micrograms of LSD into OJ’s coffee before he flies to Chicago (He was still coming down off a bad trip during the Bronco Chase) They pay off Det. Fuhrman lotsa bucks to help plant evidence, (which he used for down payment on the Hayden Lake Ranch in White Supremacist Idaho)…Then, Fuhrman figgers if he screws up testamony and OJ gets off, he can Blackmail Bryant and Greg forever !!!!
BTW, the missing piece of evidence in “the mystery envelope” is a jeweled cock ring engraved inside with, “To my beloved Ronnie, my bitch, Love, Bryant”.
Willybee
4:32 pm on September 8th, 2010
As if Reggie Bush is the only Heisman winner whose received “improper” benefits…..
As a previous poster said, going back as far as Paul Hornung, star rb’s and qb’s have been getting paid under the table and such.
And to those saying the off-filed issues are irrevlevant-not completely, not when you consider that the Heisman Trust brings up their reputation.
4:39 pm on September 8th, 2010
USC, who had a copy of OJ’s Heisman after he murdered Nicole and Ron Goldman actually did take it off display and got rid of it.
How pathetic that USC had more honor regarding off the field issues than the Heisman Trust.