Should Reggie Bush Reclaim His Heisman?
Should former Saints running back Reggie Bush reclaim his Heisman trophy and his place in college football history after the newly adopted NCAA rules would have helped his cause at USC?
Updated reports have Reggie saying that the NCAA and Heisman Trust refuse to restore his place in history.
Jan 30, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Reggie Bush at NFL Network press conference at Georgia World Congress Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
REGGIE BUSH, COLLEGE ATHLETES VS. NCAA
The NCAA heard the outcry and fought in the courts against athletes, coaches, and fans over the years. Student-athletes wanted the right to benefit from their names, images, and likenesses.
Although, some believe that an athlete in college should be honored to receive an education while playing sports. Often those comments did not recognize the ugly side of college sports.
There were hungry athletes, families in despair, and some could not care for themselves during times where they practiced for hours, smiled for cameras, and lost time with family for the good of the school's programs.
"In the Association's continuing efforts to support college athletes, the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously to permit students participating in athletics the opportunity to benefit from the use of their name, image, and likeness in a manner consistent with the collegiate model." NCAA
Today, does this help the past cases of former NCAA stars and football players with the names of Reggie Bush, Terrelle Pryor, and the past and present student-athletes negatively impacted by harsh rulings and penalties levied by the NCAA?
Since 1906, the NCAA has been the governing body over college athletics in the United States of America. The organization controls colleges, universities, coaches, and student-athlete activities. After all, it's the student-athletes who are the driving force behind all athletic programs and the NCAA's existence.
Credit: Sports Illustrated
NCAA HYPOCRISY
Over the years, the NCAA has made billions of dollars off the television and marketing rights from major college sporting events like football, track and field, and men's and women's basketball tournaments.
Statista reports the NCAA earned $797.92 million in 2016, $821.39 million in 2017, $844.27 million in 2018, and $867.53 million in 2019 from television and marketing rights alone. Revenue generated from championships and NIT tournaments equaled close to $177.87 million in 2019 alone.
The problem is simple. The NCAA and schools profited off the student-athlete's efforts; conversely, the student-athlete could not profit from their labor for the NCAA and schools.
Young athletes typically had their careers damaged after NCAA investigations ruled against them on minor offenses. As a result, many athletes received suspensions, but others never returned to college and discontinued playing sports.
New Orleans Saints Demario Davis didn't have an NCAA problem, but what could have become a serious legal issue in college from shoplifting groceries. Smaller schools resources do not compare to LSU, Alabama, USC, or Notre Dame. So college athletes are left with balancing their studies, sports, life's challenges, and a lack of money to pay for their bare necessities.
“There are hungry nights that I go to bed, and I’m starving,” Shabazz Napier, a former UConn guard, told reporters after winning the NCAA championship.
Credit: USA Today Sports
BUSH'S CHANCE FOR REDEMPTION
Former New Orleans Saints 2006 first-round pick Reggie Bush faced a probe into allegations of his family accepting gifts from a hopeful agent Lloyd Lake, who claimed he and Bush had an agreement. He provided a house for the family, money for items, and gained access to Bush.
The NCAA determined through their investigations that Reggie Bush broke the student-athlete's rules and stripped USC of its 2004 national championship in 2010. The Heisman Trophy Trust forced Bush to forfeit winning and return the 2005 Heisman Trophy trophy.
USC took things a step further. The school permanently disassociated itself from Bush and removed his name and likeness from records and images.
The NCAA infractions tarnished Bush's reputation while he was in the National Football League with New Orleans. The sanctions affected his advertising sponsorships and status promoting products.
I always argued this one fact about the NCAA and USC versus Bush. Both disassociated from Bush but did not return the revenue gained from Bush's name, popularity, and likeness while he was a student-athlete at USC.
Credit: Sports Illustrated
The hypocrisy had lingering negative effects on the careers and endorsements of players like Reggie Bush, O.J. Mayo, and Terrelle Pryor.
Ed O'Bannon's successful lawsuit against the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) for college football and basketball players to profit from their names, images, and likenesses, the new rules was the catalyst for the recent NCAA reversal of policy.
Still, should yesterday's student-athlete situations be considered in this new NCAA ruling? Is there a chance of redemption for Reggie Bush?
Yes. USC has contacted Reggie Bush to "heal old wounds." Will the Heisman Trophy Trust return Bush's 2005 Heisman and acknowledge his place in college football history?
Don't expect the same system who profited from Bush and others will be so willing to restore his legacy as one of the greatest college football players in history.
Stranger things have happened in the world.
We shall see.
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