Who cares about Reggie Bush giving back the Heisman?

Reggie Bush still plays for the New Orleans Saints

The first sentence on Reggie Bush’s Wikipedia page reads “Reginald Alfred “Reggie” Bush II (born March 2, 1985) is a professional football player who plays for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League.

Yesterday, Reggie Bush was “forced” to give back the Heisman Trophy that he won in 2005 during his final year at USC because he received improper benefits in his tenure at USC. In other words, he took money that he wasn’t supposed to take.

The NCAA had to take the trophy away from Reggie Bush but the real question is, what does it all mean in the
grand scheme of things?

To be honest, I don’t think it means very much.

First off, Bush did not win the Heisman with the help of the indiscretions that took place during his college career. Whatever he did, which Bush has still not specified, did not challenge the integrity of the game itself. Unlike Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire, he did not use performance enhancing drugs. The stats that Reggie Bush put up during the 2005 season were legitimate in that sense and there is nothing that can take that away from him. Reggie Bush still rushed 200 times for 1740 yards (8.7 yards per carry) and 16 touchdowns.

The formality of the trophy may have been taken from Reggie Bush but that doesn’t make Vince Young, who was the runner-up in 2005, the real winner of the Heisman trophy. This is more of a Pete Rose situation than anything else, except not to that extent, which makes me feel that this isn’t a big deal.

Just like Pete Rose, the actual gameplay of the game itself was not cheated. The fact that Reggie Bush violated certain NCAA regulations doesn’t change anything about him as a football player. Maybe as a person, but not a football player.

In my mind, Brian Cushing still being awarded the NFL defensive rookie of the year is much worse because how can we know that he still would have won the award if not for PED’s. However, we do know that the rules that Reggie Bush violated did not have any effect on his play.

Reggie Bush won a super bowl with the New Orleans Saints last season and giving up his Heisman trophy doesn’t make that accomplishment any less magnificent. Heisman or no Heisman, Reggie Bush is still preparing for the 2nd week of his 5th NFL season with the New Orleans Saints.

All this talk about legacy doesn’t mean squat because it has nothing to do with what he has done on the football field.

I could go on and on about this but as I’ve stated, if you look at the big picture it really doesn’t matter. It may no longer be in the record books, but Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy Award in 2005 and nothing is ever going to change that.

Agree? Disagree? If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to reply in the comments section below. Or you can e-mail me at cross_can15@hotmail.com. I’m now on twitter follow me @paintstheblack and I will gladly return the favour.

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