Reggie Bush Returns Heisman Trophy

Reggie Bush returns Heisman Trophy

Running back Reggie Bush returned his Heisman Trophy, given to him in 2005, in an unprecedented move before it is likely to be taken from him later.

The Heisman Trophy is given to the top college football player every year since 1935.

Bush, who played college football at Southern California, was ruled ineligible for the 2005 season after an NCAA investigation found out that he and his family had received hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts from two agents while still playing for the University of Southern California. The NCAA has imposed sanctions against USC and the university has returned a replica of the trophy.

There are two rules for Heisman Trophy voters in determining the awardee, and one of them is that a player must abide by eligibility guidelines of the NCAA.

Bush released a statement saying that receiving the Heisman Trophy was one of the greatest honors of his life, but he said, “The persistent media speculation regarding allegations dating back to my years at USC 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 said he plans to put up an educational program to help college athletes and their families so they could “avoid some of the mistakes that I made.”

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

Posted by Andre Monohan on Wednesday September 15 2010, 10:47 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0