Should Former USC RB Reggie Bush be stripped of his Heisman trophy?

s

Yahoo sports is reporting that the Heisman committee will strip Reggie Bush of his trophy by the end of September. According to my sources, no vote has been taken by the committee yet but there have been discussions about the issue.

WHY HE SHOULD:

There is not question that he and his parents received benefits that would have made him ineligible to play under NCAA rules. The Heisman bylaws say that the player must be eligible to play in order to be considered for the award. While Bush was eligible, had the NCAA known about the housing and other benefits that he and his family received, he would not have been.

His actions or failure to prevent actions of those around him have caused his school irreparable harm by suspension of bowl opportunities and loss of scholarships. His actions caused those that followed him to USC to pay for his indiscretions.

Pete Carroll, the former HC of the Trojans now that he slipped out of town to Seattle and the NFL, claims he knew nothing about it. Ditto by former Athletic Director Mike Garrett. I have to wonder about that. While my semi-pro teams never had 100 players, in the first few weeks of coaching them, I knew where they lived, what they did for a living, and had met most of their families. That was particularly true of my top players. Bush was a top recruit and was part of the USC team for 4 years and neither had a clue seems doubtful. They have to assume part of the blame for what happened to the program.

WHY HE SHOULD NOT:

Had he used performing enhancing drugs, his abilities on the field would have been artificially improved. But he did not. To everyone’s knowledge, he used his own natural talent to establish the statistics that won him the award. Had there been a hint of PEDs, he should be stripped of any awards that resulted from the use of those drugs.

The vast majority of the value of the illegal benefits were in the form of free rent for his parents. However, the NCAA report identified gifts to Bush including paid hotel stays and the expensive suit he wore to the Heisman award show.

The Heisman committee has never stripped a player of the award including O.J. Simpson who was implicated in the murders of 2 people and convicted of robbery and kidnapping. How could they take Bush’s trophy and not O.J.’s?

My opinion:

Take it back. I say that not because I think that he didn’t earn it but just because I dislike USC and want to see their nose rubbed in it a little more.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for and edits https://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on

and edits .

No votes yet.
Please wait...

5 thoughts on “Should Former USC RB Reggie Bush be stripped of his Heisman trophy?”

  1. I say let him keep it

    no one will learn anything either way

    business as usuall in the NCAA

    No votes yet.
    Please wait...
  2. The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can imagine the very fact that you can do a thing, you can do it

    No votes yet.
    Please wait...
  3. He’s really a great player. I’m missing a lot his games. Really a electrifying player he was. I wanna see him back if possible..

    No votes yet.
    Please wait...
  4. heisman trophy or not, reggie bush was still the best college player of 2005

    No votes yet.
    Please wait...
  5. Simply want to say your article is stunning. The clearness in your post is simply impressive and i can take for granted you are an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your rss feed to keep up to date with incoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the effective work.

    No votes yet.
    Please wait...

Comments are closed.