The controversy surrounding Reggie Bush‘s 2005 Heisman trophy reared its head again yesterday, with a report surfacing that the Heisman trust is expected to strip the former USC running back of his hardware as early as this month.
The report, subsequently denied by the trust, also stated that the award would be vacated instead of given to runner-up Vince Young. If that ultimately turns out to be the case, that’s just fine with one member of Young’s family.
“We’re not interested in having no honor and no glory out of somebody else they are trying to tear down, no,” Felicia Young, the ex-Texas quarterback’s mother, told the Dallas Morning News. “They did not give Vincent the Heisman when he was there, even though I know that my son, he was the one who should have had the Heisman, but God didn’t see it that way. He gave it to Reggie Bush.”
Saying “they’re not to tear down that young man”, Felicia Young also took unnamed people to task for the way poor Reggie is being treated.
“Leave (Reggie Bush) alone because his stats and his ability and everything that he did as a human being in playing football he did wonderful,” Young’s mother said.
“I say to Reggie Bush today ‘you keep your head up.’”
Yeah, keep that head up Reggie. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Especially not the fact that several dozen current members of the football program you supposedly will defend until the day you die are paying for you and your family’s greed.
haha. She calls the Heisman, “that piece of wood.”
In other words she does not want people looking into what VY took while at UT.
I would not have a problem with them giving him the Reggie Bush award I mean Heisman. The guy was an absolute beast in the BCS game.
They won’t take it away because it will open a can of worms. All it takes is one former winner to say “hey, I got ‘incentives’ too”.
They won’t take it away because it will open a can of worms. All it takes is one former winner to say “hey, I got ‘incentives’ too”.
Oh, please let that happen.
how did Bush become the lone villain in all of this mess? He was a 19 yr old kid when it all started & plenty of adults in high places either participated or knew what was going on. Fascinating how USC alumni, coaches, agents, etc. etc. all managed to look the other way long enough to use Bush like a work horse until they got what they needed from his abilities & skills. Now it’s sooooo embarassing, so he becomes the scapegoat. It’s also very interesting to me that USC still honors O.J. Simpson. I have to assume that murdering your wife is not nearly as heinous an act as getting caught at something that every college in the country does to one degree or another. It has always happened & will continue to happen. The colleges will just be a lot more careful not to get caught for now. Young’s mother has shown a lot more class than the media & USC.
I am not a USC fan. I am not a Bush fan. What does taking money, houses, whatever have to do with his performance on the field? He was still the best ON THE FIELD. Why isn’t the AD and C0ach punished as well? They said “they didn’t know”….sure they didn’t…..
You can argue all you want about whether it is fair what regulations exist for players about pay, etc.
But they currently exist and the prerequisites for the Heisman clearly state the candidate must be in compliance with NCAA rules.
Create an award that doesn’t require that and give it to him.
He still is responsible for his behavior – to know right and wrong – and has to suffer the consequences – part of growing up. Plenty of other 19-year old kids in the world making the right decision – including past winners of the trophy.
So OJ Simpson gets to keep his Heisman but they won’t let Reggie keep his. What a disgrace! Reggie Bush has shown nothing but class. No matter what the ruling is. His ability was shown on the field and he deserved to win based on ability and performance alone. It is time for EVERYONE to move past this situation and focus on this years players and their performances. Let it go people and move on!!
If Reggie keeps the award do you rename it….
*****The HeisTman Trophy*****
@StormyLou: If it is time for EVERYONE to move past this situation, then we should allow all NCAA players to violate NCAA rules without fear of penalty.
Bush violated NCAA rules. This was investigated and proven people. Wake up. Regardless of how great he was on the field, none of that matters to the NCAA if he was in violation of NCAA rules. If you cheat, you don’t get to keep the awards you get while you cheated. This is a rule any 1st grader can understand.
Furthermore, had OJ killed his wife (which unfortunately was never proven in a criminal trial, thank you for botching that one LA prosecutors) while he was AT USC while PLAYING FOR USC and DURING HIS HEISMAN-WINNING YEAR, then your red herring argument about it not being fair that he gets to keep his trophy might have relevancy. Otherwise (and we know this is NOT the case), go yell down a hole.
Honeysuckle,
Part of the sanctions against USC require them to disassociate themselves from Reggie Bush.
Mrs. Young, God was not the one who decided to give the Heisman trophy to Reggie Bush and God will not be the one who will take it away.
Who gives a flying you-know-what what Vince’s mom feels.
Bush was ruled ineligible. Therefore he cannot possibly win the award.
OJ on the other hand… his problems weren’t related to his playing on the field, nor his eligibility (still doesn’t make them right).
Exactly, where there is smoke there is fire… His mom just jumped the gun. She doesn’t want anyone knowing what she received or others received in the Texas program. Ricky Williams said in his 30 for 30 documentary that he never bought “weed” until he got to NOLA, so he received an illegal gift. And Ricky is one of my all time favorite players.
If you strip Reggie then you must go back and investigate every Heisman trophy winner, just so you can so that Reggie Bush is the “only one” who did something wrong by taking gifts.
In this TMZ, board posting era of media, someone is going to go digging into all of these guys pasts just to find something and it is going to drag legends through the mud and as sports fans we will find out stuff about these sports icons we just didn’t need to know about.
You start now and put a rule in place that states a player can lose their award if they are involved in any inappropriate actions while a college athlete or prior to attending their college. All guys who have won are grandfathered in as untouchable to this rule.
@georgeanderson: The investigation into Reggie Bush’s NCAA violations has been going on since he was still playing college ball. Investigative reporters from Yahoo! Sports found Bush’s family living in the home provided – free of charge – by agents, and most importantly, while Bush was still at USC. Should we assume therefore that under your “golden rule” that Bush isn’t grandfathered?
So a popular sentiment is that Vince Young’s mom is supportive of Reggie Bush— not because she lives in the real world and as such knows that the attention given this ordeal is completely retarded— but because she doesn’t want her own family to be investigated?
Wow.
Why so much bitterness? Do your lives really suck THAT much?
I come here to read College Football news, not sanctimonious grandstanding. Drop the high horse BS and just report the facts.
1935 – 2009 should not be touched. This is not an award given out by the NCAA. I agree with fair play, wish all programs were clean. But we must be ready to have all programs and players(past and present) heavily scrutinized if we take away this award.
You could almost guarantee that all the Heisman winners violated an NCAA rule at one time or another. Maybe having someone buy them a meal, maybe a booster gave their girlfriend money so they could have a good time after a big win. Things that these guys didn’t think were violations actually are violations. It doesn’t matter the seriousness, it breaks NCAA rules. Do we strip everyone?
The company I work for hired Reggie Bush for an event, and he was billed as “Heisman Trophy Winner”, should we now go back and sue Reggie Bush for misrepresentation? Do we need to tie up the courts with these type of lawsuits? We all just have to move forward and learn quickly from this or alot of glass houses are going to break.
Do you think Vinny and Gino didn’t receive money,free tabs, no cover charges into South Beach clubs, etc ? Luke even said he covered tabs and gave out cash to players in the 30 for 30 documentary – and I am a Canes Alum. A violation is a violation.
Are we going to start taking away awards no matter how far in the past we have to go?
It seems a bit late for all this and really, isn’t it time for the sham to stop in college football? Reggie Bush ain’t the only one…..
I think it’s hilarious that so many never weres are so quick to say “Who Cares what Vince Young’s Mom thinks?” but somehow think their opinion about what constitutes right and wrong should be taken into consideration.
All of you are far too concerned with this issue period. Whether Bush keeps or loses his Heisman has a net zero affect on your day to day life, be it positive or negative.
Your kids won’t even remember this and if you need Bush’s Heisman taken away so you can have a teaching tool for your kids then you already failed as a parent to begin with.
That this is such a huge deal to so many people is what’s truly sad about the whole thing. Society is far to eager to knock people down a peg whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Whether one agrees or not with the NCAA, USC is bigger than all of this. The Bush indiscretions should be used as a teaching opportunity in human temptation and inadequate parenting for everyone in and out of sports.
If you lay down with dogs you’ll get up with fleas! Step-daddy Lamar Griffin, his mother, and Reggie all knew they were breaking the rules. They just wanted the money and couldn’t wait a few years until he became rich in the NFL. The felons and ex-cons Reggie was so stupid to conjoin will forever be etched in his future. We are all vassals to our experiences and memories. This is no less than a young man full of testosterone bringing home a dope dealer friend and instead of the dad providing parental counseling, shooing him away, dad sells dope with the ex-con, and they all get caught! Lamar Griffin has bonded those negative experiences to his son’s future and personal memories forever! And Griffin holds himself out to be a preacher, we all remember Jim Jones….preach on Lamar. As a Black-American alumnus of USC I have no sympathy for Reggie Bush and his family. This is not one of those race issues some, on both sides, are trying to turn it into. It is a simple matter of Bush’s youthful stupidity on a grand scale, then rationalizing wrongdoing to the enth degree proclaiming, “I didn’t do anything wrong, I just play football.” Most lay persons have heard, for decades, that a student-athlete simply cannot take money or gifts from anyone. Looks like Reggie missed that class. He has disgraced himself, his family name, and the university. USC is one of the finest academic institutions in the country and will survive and overcome this. Its legendary football success and prowess will return in short order. Sadly, for all his statements about moving on, I predict this will ultimately haunt Reggie Bush and affect him the rest of his life. And for that I can appreciate Mrs. Young’s comments. He will make history in the worst way (Heisman returned) when it should have been the stellar opposite. But he only has himself and so called step-daddy and momma to blame.
It’s kinda funny — and quite sad — that these days you’re considered “sanctimonious” if you think people should follow the rules/laws, or face repercussions if you don’t.
Whether one agrees or not with the NCAA, USC is bigger than all of this. The Bush indiscretions should be used as a teaching opportunity in human temptation and inadequate parenting for everyone in and out of sports.
If you lay down with dogs you’ll get up with fleas! Step-daddy Lamar Griffin, his mother, and Reggie all knew they were breaking the rules. They just wanted the money and couldn’t wait a few years until he became rich in the NFL. The felons and ex-cons Reggie was so stupid to conjoin will forever be etched in his future. We are all vassals to our experiences and memories. This is no less than a young man full of testosterone bringing home a dope dealer friend and instead of the dad providing parental counseling, shooing him away, dad sells dope with the ex-con, and they all get caught! Lamar Griffin has bonded those negative experiences to his son’s future and personal memories forever! And Griffin holds himself out to be a preacher, we all remember Jim Jones….preach on Lamar. As a Black-American alumnus of USC I have no sympathy for Reggie Bush and his family. This is not one of those race issues some, on both sides, are trying to turn it into. It is a simple matter of Bush’s youthful stupidity on a grand scale, then rationalizing wrongdoing to the enth degree proclaiming, “I didn’t do anything wrong, I just play football.” Most lay persons have heard, for decades, that a student-athlete simply cannot take money or gifts from anyone. Looks like Reggie missed that class. He has disgraced himself, his family name, and the university. USC is one of the finest academic institutions in the country and will survive and overcome this. Its legendary football success and prowess will return in short order. Sadly, for all his statements about moving on, I predict this will ultimately haunt Reggie Bush and affect him the rest of his life. And for that I can appreciate Mrs. Young’s comments. He will make history in the worst way (Heisman returned) when it should have been the stellar opposite. But he only has himself and so called step-daddy and momma to blame.
It’s amzing how “God” found the time to “give the Heisman to Reggie Bush” as Mrs. Young says, but meanwhile millions of people starve to death, suffer from horrific diseases, get raped, tortured, murdered, etc. and “He” doesn’t do anything about that. You people live in a very close minded fantasy world. Also love how million dollar athletes praise and give thanks to”God” every time they score a game winning TD as if that had anything to do with it. So does that mean the opposing team worships the devil or something because they lost? But I digress….
God? Of all the things GOD is involved with… in case you haven’t been paying attention… “football” sure is NOT one of them, especially with the “buckets of SCUM & SLIME wearing NFL uniforms today!”
Little Bushy boy is another classic example of what is WRONG with Football. U.S.C. already sent their Trophy back, so Reggie’s is on its way too.
As for football fans? They really are “fans” of THIS game? How sad is that? Does the word “sucker” come to mind? “Taken to the cleaners?” “Dumb as a rock?”
Yeah fans… just keep on buying those tickets and logo merchandise; that’s how the NFL owners and players like you to be… SUCKERS !
Speedy Palm Harbor says the real sports we should support are CRICKET & POLO.
tpbrowns, so does your post mean that your an athesist? If so, no problem. If not, than your full of crap.
if you ask me ,, I am sure 90% of the players get some kind of help ,, they just don’t get caught because there names are not all over the hype of the good players