Reggie Bush wins the Heisman.
Again.
Of course, he won in a landslide in 2005, only to have the trophy taken away because of impermissible benefits like money and free housing given to the botched USC, which is now the smallest of potatoes. So small that these benefits are no longer in the food chain.
In other words, Reggie got his award back on Wednesday because that was then and this is now and today everything is totally different.
And that is a mistake.
Why?
Because it is precedent-setting. Just because amateurism is dead now doesn’t mean it was already dead.
More: Texas football defensive back Austin Jordan enters college transfer portal
A deserved victory, but also a deserved punishment
That’s not to say Bush wasn’t one of college football’s greatest players. He was. But he broke the rules. Pure and simple. Do we go back and correct any sins or omissions according to the rules that existed at the time?
By accepting weekly payments and free housing for himself and his family, Bush chose not to comply with NCAA rules. At the time. Yes, I understood. Heck, he was even found guilty of a free limo ride to the Heisman ceremony in New York. If that’s not the definition of the kind of overzealous nonsense the NCAA investigated, nothing is.
However, Bush’s violations were considered serious enough for the Heisman Trust to withdraw his award, an award he won with more than 90% of the first-place votes. Heck, USC was placed on very harsh NCAA probation that included a two-year bowling ban and the confiscation of 30 scholarships over three years. This is as important as possible.
Bush claiming the Heisman is a slippery slope
So should the NCAA fix this too and allow USC 30 extra scholarships over the next three years? God knows Lincoln Riley could use them to put up a respectable defense. Should USC also recreate these talented teams and play in two mythical bowls, for which it is now apparently eligible? Maybe Pete Carroll would actually give Reggie the ball on a critical play if he were allowed to do it all over again in 2024.
More: Arch Manning will be Texas’ best quarterback option, but not this season | Bohls
On Wednesday, the Trust received a new message about its harsh penalty:
Never mind.
I fully understand the groundswell of support for Bush to be reinstated as a Heisman winner. I make. And amateurism is dead. But should we rewrite all history accordingly? Everyone from Johnny Manziel — who also may have broken a rule or two with payments for autograph sessions while at Texas A&M and received something of a punishment with a half-game suspension against Rice — to Robert Griffin III and teammate of Bush, Matt Leinart celebrated the moment.
I understand. Bush was a great player.
And nowhere in the instructions to the nearly 1,000 Heisman voters does it say that the player must be a saint. Bush ended up playing in New Orleans for five seasons and helped the Saints win the Super Bowl.
More: Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. showed us he can fill Jaylan Ford’s shoes | Golden
Let me be clear. I do not rejoice against this decision. I just worry about the slippery slope we may be heading towards. This could have far-reaching implications that go far beyond this award. And does the NCAA also endorse the measure, since it and the Heisman Trust are separate entities?
Doubtful, I would say. Because if the NCAA returns USC’s vacant 2004 BCS national championship, what’s to stop other teams on probation from pushing for the same with revised cases? This does not diminish its greatness. I was there at the Orange Bowl where the Trojans totally dismantled Oklahoma.
The next thing you know, other people may enter the fray and try to correct past mistakes or omissions or correct a change in the rules.
Do the Trojans get back that stripped national championship too? Can Pete Carroll turn back the clock and stay at USC – he left before the sanctions were imposed – and continue his dynasty?
More: Jordan Pope picks Texas basketball. What this means for the Longhorns.
Should we go back and vote again in other years, given the new circumstances?
Could the NCAA really destroy SMU in 1987, after handing out the only death penalty in history to the Southwest Conference school, given that many such cash payments in an elaborate scandal are completely acceptable today? The Mustangs are still hurting, having wandered the college football wilderness ever since.
Yes, SMU has finally found a seat at the big boys’ table, albeit in the ACC, which could fall apart at any minute. But it still loses any revenue from the ACC for a decade. I think it’s a kind of victory.
Pete Rose enters Hall of Fame because of new clemency? Joe Jackson barefoot in Cooperstown?
I mean, where does it end?
When Sins Are Forgiven Faster Than Student Loans
The NCAA has long vacated Final Four wins and appearances like Michigan’s Fab Five because of impermissible benefits and the Saint Joseph’s basketball team embroiled in a gambling and bowl winning scandal.
Hey, Bush was the clear winner of the award over an equally deserving runner-up. The name escapes me.
Bush was an electric running back who surpassed 2,200 yards from scrimmage and scored 18 touchdowns. He received 784 of 892 first-place votes, the fifth most in Heisman history.
(As part of my ongoing community service, consider this the 2,416,742nd apology for not voting for Vince Young. I voted the Texas quarterback second in my 2005 poll, which in itself isn’t an insult, but it wasn’t enough in keeping with his preternatural talent. Also, I always thought VY should have won the trophy when Bush was forced to hand it over. Still do.)
The Heisman Trust explained it this way.
The decision to reinstate the Heisman Trophy was based on a “deliberative process” by the Heisman Trust to monitor a sea change in college athletics in recent years. The Trust cited “fundamental changes in college athletics” in which rules that allowed “student-athlete compensation” have become “an accepted practice and appear to be here to stay.”
Therefore, past sins are forgiven faster than student loans.
I’m just not sure where this might lead, although it’s pretty clear that the Trust wanted to get back into Bush’s good graces. I still can’t say the same for the NCAA, as he sued them for defamation. But it can be intriguing to watch.
“We are thrilled to welcome Reggie Bush back to the Heisman family in recognition of his collegiate achievements,” said Michael Comerford, president of The Heisman Trophy Trust, in his statement. “We considered the enormous changes in college athletics over the past few years in deciding that now is the right time to return the trophy to Reggie.
You can expect Bush to be prominent in new Heisman House ads. Maybe Reggie gets paid by them. Up front and everything.
There are many people like the Heisman Trust who would also like to do it all over again. I know I can think of one.
This article originally appeared in the Austin American-Statesman: Reggie Bush reclaims the Heisman Trophy, but are more changes coming?
