Reggie Bush wants the 2005 Heisman Trophy back
By Jacob Lev and Steve Almasy, CNN
Reggie Bush, the former University of Southern California (USC) star who won the 2005 Heisman Trophy, said Thursday he wants the award, and his college football records, reinstated.
An NCAA investigation in the years that followed Bush’s college career found that the former running back received impermissible benefits, including several thousand dollars and a vehicle while at USC, and he was ineligible as of 2004.
In 2010, Bush forfeited the coveted award he won for an electrifying 2005 season, in which he rushed for 1,740 yards on just 200 carries and scored 18 total touchdowns.
Bush released a statement on Thursday, a day after the NCAA approved a new policy for student-athletes to make money on their names, images and likenesses, saying he and his representatives have reached out to the NCAA and the Heisman Trophy Trust to request his Heisman Trophy be reinstated.
“It is my strong belief that I won the Heisman Trophy ‘solely’ due to my hard work and dedication on the football field and it is also my firm belief that my records should be reinstated,” he said.
The NCAA in 2010 levied a four-year probation on the USC football program, forced the Trojans to vacate its last two wins of the 2004 season, including the 2005 Orange Bowl, and all of its wins in 2005.
In addition, the school was banned from bowl games in 2010 and 2011 and could not associate itself with Bush.
CNN reached out on Thursday to the NCAA for comment, but has not heard back.
Heisman Trophy Trust officials said Friday that Bush is not eligible to get the award back because of the NCAA’s ruling.
“Should the NCAA reinstate Bush’s 2005 status, the Heisman Trust looks forward to welcoming him back to the Heisman family,” officials said in a statement.
The-CNN-Wire
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