After having his Heisman Trophy returned, Reggie Bush is on a mission to have his reputation within the NCAA restored.
The NFL alum, who played for the USC Trojans, had his 2005 Heisman Trophy for the most outstanding player in the nation restored on Thursday, May 2, AP News reported. With the prestigious honor back in his hands 14 years after he forfeited the trophy, Bush is ready to fight the NCAA to re-establish his college football career’s reputation.
The two-time All-American running back does not doubt his efforts since he “never cheated” during his three seasons at USC.
“There was never a doubt in my mind that it would come,” Bush said. “Because I know the truth is on my side.”
Though Bush and his legal team thanked the Heisman Trust for reinstating his trophy during Thursday’s press conference, they acknowledged their plans to continue their defamation lawsuit against the NCAA. The former New Orleans Saints player sued the NCAA last August for their 2021 statement that accused him of receiving payment for playing football at the University of Southern California.
“It was more of being labeled a cheater,” Bush said. “The trophy … being taken away from me (was painful), but being labeled a cheater was far worse, because I’ve never cheated, and there’s no proof of that, that I’ve cheated.”
It was back in 2010 when Bush forfeited his Heisman Trophy after the NCAA accused him of accepting improper payments from an external source while he was a college athlete. The College Football Hall of Famer was stripped of his collegiate titles and voluntarily returned his 2005 Heisman Trophy.
Speed up 11 years later, when the NCAA introduced policy changes that allow student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness. Bush hoped his case would be reconsidered under the new guidelines, however the NCAA says their “rules still do not permit pay-for-play type arrangements.”
But their 2021 claims of Bush being paid to play at USC is what garnered the defamation suit.
“It’s about truth, getting the facts out, and holding the NCAA accountable,” Bush said at the time.
While Bush has his Heisman Trophy back, the NCAA still vacated 14 wins by the USC Trojans and erased many of Bush’s achievements from the record books. He’s hoping his defamation suit will reverse the governing body’s stance.
“This is a clarion call to the NCAA to do the right thing, to get on the right side of history,” attorney Ben Crump said.
“You can’t get to this, or a national championship, by cheating,” Bush said. “I promise you that.”
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