Reggie Bush forfeits his Heisman trophy
No, your ears and eyes did not deceive you. New Orleans running-back Reggie Bush announced on Tuesday afternoon that he has decided to forfeit his title as Heisman winner of 2005. Bush made the announcement
in a statement released by the Saints.
Many feel that Bush really had no choice because it was speculated that the The Heisman Trophy Trust would have stripped his title away in the upcoming weeks. Previous Heisman winners weighed in on this
hot topic and agreed with his decision.
"If that's what he feels like he needed to do, only he can make that judgement...I thought he would try to hold onto it, since he'd left the university, but maybe he's doing the right thing giving it up,
given the circumstances,” said Billy Sims, 1978 Heisman winner from Oklahoma.
Others sympathize with Bush and feel that he shouldn’t have given his trophy away so easily because he worked hard for it and deserved it. “I think it's a shame that it's come to this for Reggie. Unfortunately
they found out a lot of this information after the fact after he had so much success on the field, and you're looking at five years later he's giving the trophy back,” said Eddie George, 1995 Heisman winner from Ohio State.
Bush, who violated the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s policy, accepted $290,000 in gifts from sports marketers while playing for USC. Bush owned up to his mistake, but given up his trophy was
not an easy thing for Bush to do. “One of the greatest honours of my life was winning the Heisman Trophy in 2005. For me, it was a dream come true. I will forever appreciate the honour bestowed upon me as a winner of the Heisman. While this decision is heart-breaking,
I find solace in knowing that the award was made possible by the support and love of so many. Those are gifts that can never be taken away."
Bush may have forfeited the Heisman, there is no question that he was the most electrifying athlete on the field every Saturday and he continually wreak havoc on opposing teams. He finished the 2005 season
with an eye-popping 2,611 all-purpose yards, which include rushing, receiving and punt returns, as well as 18 touchdowns.
His ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and elusive style of running made him a tremendous weapon on the offensive side of the ball and when he had the ball in his hands; it was a terrible sign
for defenders.
Bush has not yet shown the same type of success during his college days at the University of Southern California and may never be considered as an every down tailback, but he is still one of the most talented
players in the league.
He has been on a rollercoaster ride of emotions in the past seven months. Things were going quite smoothly for Bush, who was an integral part of New Orleans winning the Super Bowl last season. But it seems
that Bush is ready to leave his mistakes in the past and solely focus on the Saints and winning another championship.
He didn’t want his mistakes from the past to become a greater distraction, so in the end, he feels like he made the right choice and vows to help educate young players so that they can learn from his errors.
"I would like to begin in this effort by turning a negative situation into a positive one by working to establish an educational program which will assist student athletes and their families avoid some of the mistakes that I made,” said Bush.
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