Reggie Bush, Ineligible for ’05, Returns Heisman

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Reggie Bush, Ineligible for ’05, Returns Heisman
By BILL PENNINGTON


In an unprecedented move, Reggie Bush relinquished his 2005 Heisman Trophy on Tuesday, choosing to give back a singularly eminent award in American sport before most likely being stripped of it.
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Reggie Bush accepting the Heisman Trophy. He became the first player to return it.

Earlier this year, Bush, a former running back at Southern California, was ruled ineligible for the 2005 season after the N.C.A.A. determined that he and his family had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from two California agents while he was in college. U.S.C. has been given serious sanctions and returned a replica of Bush’s Heisman Trophy.

There are only two significant regulations listed on the ballot that guides the roughly 900 Heisman Trophy voters in the selection process. One of them is that a player must be compliant with N.C.A.A. eligibility rules. The trophy has recognized the top college football player every season since 1935.

In a statement, Bush called winning the Heisman one of the greatest honors of his life, but added: “The persistent media speculation regarding allegations dating back to my years at U.S.C. has been both painful and distracting. In no way should the storm around these allegations reflect in any way on the dignity of this award, nor on any other institutions or individuals.”

He added that he wanted to establish an educational program to assist college athletes and their families so they could “avoid some of the mistakes that I made.”

There was no immediate indication whether the 2005 trophy would be vacated or awarded to the former Texas quarterback Vince Young, who finished second in the voting that year.

“The Heisman Trophy Trust will issue a statement in due course,” said William J. Dockery, the president of the Heisman Trophy Trust. “Until that time, we will have no further comment.”

In the 75 years of the Heisman, no winner’s trophy has been revoked, nor have Heisman officials ever seriously considered doing so. A trophy had never been surrendered, either.

During O. J. Simpson’s legal troubles, those overseeing the trophy were often asked if his worthiness for the trophy should be discussed. The routine answer was that Simpson’s troubles had nothing to do with the football he played during the 1968 season. The response was the same when other winners were embroiled by transgressions, like jail sentences.

Interviews with former Heisman Trophy winners reflected a mix of opinion.

Herschel Walker, who won the trophy in 1982, said he did not think Bush should have given up the trophy. Walker also criticized Pete Carroll, Bush’s coach at U.S.C., who has since left to coach the Seattle Seahawks.

“It’s wrong that Reggie is the only individual getting punished,” Walker said. “Pete Carroll was in a position of leadership and could have helped Reggie. He gets to leave U.S.C. and take all that money from Seattle. Are they going to fine Pete Carroll, too?”

Pete Dawkins, the 1958 Heisman winner, said he was moved by Bush’s statement and desire to help young athletes.

“We all wish this chapter never occurred,” Dawkins said. “But it has been handled properly. For 75 years, the Heisman has remained untarnished as a symbol of promise and distinction, and it sounds like Reggie has learned a lesson and taken it to heart. The Heisman Trophy has remarkable stature, and it will continue to mark achievement and excellence.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/sp...sman.html?_r=1