{"id":4271053,"date":"2024-04-24T06:46:18","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T13:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053///wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053//www.sbsun.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053//?p=4271053&preview=true&preview_id=4271053"},"modified":"2024-04-25T02:44:23","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T09:44:23","slug":"usc-great-reggie-bush-reportedly-getting-heisman-trophy-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053///wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053//www.sbsun.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053//2024/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053//04/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053//24/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053//usc-great-reggie-bush-reportedly-getting-heisman-trophy-back/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053//","title":{"rendered":"After a long fight, Reggie Bush/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s Heisman Trophy is being returned"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2014 For the last few years, Reggie Bush has been a phantom around the caverns of the Coliseum, one of his alma mater/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s greatest alumni praised and revered verbally but always tangibly kept a Heisman Tophy/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s arm-length away./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

That was the reality, because there was no choice. In 2010, Bush was stripped of his 2005 Heisman Trophy after the NCAA deemed he had received improper benefits while playing at USC, setting in motion a long and grueling back-and-forth that seemed destined to leave Bush/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s hands empty. No banner of his former No. 5 jersey, once beloved by fans, has hung at the Coliseum. He had been asked multiple times to lead USC/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s team out of the tunnel, Bush said in August, but simply couldn/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019t./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cI can/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019t wait to do it,/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d Bush said then. /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cBut I can/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019t do it without my Heisman Trophy, and without that banner in the end zone./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

He/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019ll get the chance now, and USC can fully open its arms to Bush, with a bombshell announcement on Wednesday by the Heisman Trust: Bush/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s 2005 Heisman Trophy was being returned./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cI am grateful to once again be recognized as the recipient of the Heisman Trophy,/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d Bush said in a statement Wednesday. /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cThis reinstatement is not only a personal victory but also a validation of the tireless efforts of my supporters and advocates who have stood by me throughout this arduous journey./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

And after originally welcoming Bush back in 2020, USC embraced the Heisman Trust/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s decision with open arms, able to now re-claim a status no other collegiate football program has reached: eight Heisman winners. The Trust, USC announced, had returned Bush/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s trophy to him and the replica to USC, set to be put on display in the lobby of Heritage Hall./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

USC president Carol Folt, who helped bring about Bush/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s original re-integration into the university shortly after she was hired in 2019, said they were /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cproud we were able to stand with him as an advocate./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d Athletic Director Jen Cohen, who has quickly integrated herself into USC life since her hire last year, called Bush/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s impact on USC and college football /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cunmatched./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d And head coach Lincoln Riley offered multiple forms of emphatic congratulations, calling it a /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201chistoric day./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cWe are thrilled that Reggie/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s athletic accomplishments as one of the greatest to ever play the game can officially be recognized,/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d Riley said in a statement through USC. /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cFor a long time, the Heisman and USC have been synonymous and being able to acknowledge all eight of our winners is extraordinary./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

Since Bush/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s trophy was stripped, he and the NCAA have been in a bitter back-and-forth for nearly 15 years, a tug-of-war for a Heisman Trophy and recognition that has never budged as both sides have dug their heels into the sand./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

Bush, the former USC legend who dazzled his way to a 2005 season that still stands as one of the greatest individual years by a running back in college football history, has made a continuous push for the renewal of his trophy and collegiate records /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2013 in 2022 sitting for an hour-long interview on the podcast /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cI AM ATHLETE/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d entitled /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cGive Me My Heisman Back NCAA!!/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cI want to make it abundantly clear that I have always acted with integrity and in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth by the NCAA,/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d Bush said in his statement Wednesday. /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cThe allegations brought against me were unfounded and unsupported by evidence, and I am grateful that the truth is finally prevailing./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

The NCAA, meanwhile, has never budged in its stance on Bush, long years after their investigation and ruling that he had received payments from then-agent Lloyd Lake while playing at USC. But in July 2021, after changes to longstanding name, image and likeness (NIL) rules, the NCAA cracked open a window when it asserted that /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cNCAA rules still do not permit pay-for-play type arrangements/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d in a statement issued to media on the possibility of Bush/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s records being restored./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

In August 2023, Bush and a team of lawyers launched a full-scale attack on the NCAA, suing them for defamation on the /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cpay-for-play/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d statement associated with Bush and condemning the NCAA/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s original investigation /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2013 which was called into question in a subsequent trial involving former USC assistant coach Todd McNair. Still, the NCAA hadn/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019t budged for months since Bush and lawyers held a press conference at the Coliseum that August to publicly denounce the NCAA and push for his Heisman./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cIf history is any indication, they/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019re going to fight it to the death, which has been their litigation strategy for a long time,/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d Mit Winter, a lawyer and expert in sports law, told the Southern California 色情论坛 Group in the fall. /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cThey never settle on anything, for the most part. They generally aren/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019t very reasonable in litigation./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

It was the Heisman Trust, however, that ended up bending the knee as a third party, capable all along of reinstating Bush/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s Heisman Trophy but never willing to cross the NCAA. In 2021, in response to the NCAA/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s ruling on NIL and statements seemingly pointing at Bush, the Trust established that he wouldn/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019t receive his trophy under rules of Heisman eligibility, saying in a statement that he would be welcomed back as a Heisman winner /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201cshould the NCAA reinstate Bush/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s 2005 status./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n

Ultimately, though, the Heisman Trust appeared to take matters into its own hands. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Trust referenced the Supreme Court/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s decision in the NCAA v. Alston case from 2021, which opened the door for collegiate athletes to receive NIL benefits and thereby /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2013 seemingly /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2013 vindicate any details of the NCAA/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/u2019s original investigation into Bush./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271053/n