Sources: Reggie Bush losing his Heisman

[Blade]

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ys-bushheisman090710

Sources: Trust to take Bush’s Heisman
By Charles Robinson and Jason Cole
6 hours, 55 minutes ago

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The Heisman Trophy Trust is expected to strip former University of Southern California star running back Reggie Bush of college football’s top honor by the end of September, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Bush would become the first player in the 75-year history of the award to have the trophy taken away. The NCAA found major violations in the Trojans’ football program in June and levied serious sanctions against the school.

Two sources close to the Heisman trust said the body’s investigation is coming to a close, and will ultimately concur with the NCAA’s determination that Bush was ineligible during his Heisman-winning season in 2005. Because of that independent conclusion, sources said the trust will relieve Bush of the award and leave the honor for that season vacant. The sources said Bush met with Heisman representatives last month at the New York law offices of Emmet, Marvin & Martin. The sources would not reveal details of that meeting.

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[Photos: More images of former USC running back Reggie Bush]


It appears as if the Heisman Trophy Trust is about to strip Reggie Bush of his 2005 trophy.

Julie Jacobson/AP
Bush, now a standout with the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Heisman trust has been conducting its own independent inquiry into Bush’s eligibility since the NCAA ruled in June that the USC star had committed multiple violations by accepting cash, gifts and other impermissible benefits while playing for the Trojans. Yahoo! Sports first detailed the extra benefits in September 2006. In its findings, the NCAA retroactively ruled Bush ineligible for part of the 2004 season and all of 2005. The NCAA also ordered the USC program to remove all references to Bush from its sporting venues and promotional materials and vacate his statistics from all games in which he was ineligible.

In July, incoming USC president C.L. Max Nikias announced that the university would be returning its copy of Bush’s Heisman to the trust, stating the Trojans would honor and respect athletes who “did not compromise their athletic program or the opportunities of future USC student-athletes.” New USC athletic director Pat Haden followed up in August, stating during an interview with the Dan Patrick radio show that Bush should also voluntarily return his Heisman.

While others pressed for a swift decision, the trust opted for a patient, meticulous effort. Sources said the trust did its own detailed investigation over the past three months, using a litany of resources and reviewing its information against the NCAA’s findings. The trust also offered Bush a chance to impact the decision.

The process apparently came with considerable debate – in part because of the trust’s quest for due process, but also because of the unique nature of the decision. Never in the history of the award has the trust been forced to retroactively rule on the eligibility of a past winner. That reality, along with the NCAA’s findings, created a tangled knot of deliberation regarding the trust’s place in the role of enforcement. Sources said the prominent issues discussed included accountability, on-field vs. off-field conduct, implications of retroactively stripping an award and possible impact on future athletes and the NCAA.

Two factors outweighed all others, sources said: The Heisman ballot necessitates candidates be in compliance with NCAA bylaws and concern over the Heisman’s reputation in the wake of the NCAA findings against Bush.

The status of USC’s 2004 Bowl Championship Series national title remains to be determined. BCS officials are awaiting the NCAA’s ruling on the Trojans’ appeal of the June finding.

 

[Houston]

I don't keep up with stories like this, but I thought this already happened?

 

[Woy]

Give it to him.

 

[Maize]

Yeah Woy, I wonder if they give it to Vince or just leave that year blank. Should be interesting once it becomes final, although it seems he has lost it for sure.

 

[Woy]

Yeah Woy, I wonder if they give it to Vince or just leave that year blank. Should be interesting once it becomes final, although it seems he has lost it for sure.

It's already been reported that it'll be vacant, but VY definitely deserves it.

 

[Blade]

I don't keep up with stories like this, but I thought this already happened?

Well popular opinion and speculation was that the Trust would take it away. This is pretty final though.

 

[FedEx227]

It's already been reported that it'll be vacant, but VY definitely deserves it.

Somehow I think if they investigated Vince Young they'd find a number of infractions.

His 6 on the Wonderlic points to me that he may not have passed his classes on his own.

 

[ryne candy]

Don't see how this matters...everyone will still think of him as a Heisman winning RB. He would have to commit double homicide before that changed.

 

[ralaw]

Why does the NCAA care if Bush received "cash, gifts and other impermissible benefits"?

 

[FedEx227]

I'd love to know that too.

I use to be on the "just pay them" side, but I think I'm leaning towards the "just let them get gifts, money".

At this point who cares if a top recruit gets a car or a fake job from a booster?

 

[ralaw]

I'd love to know that too.

I use to be on the "just pay them" side, but I think I'm leaning towards the "just let them get gifts, money".

At this point who cares if a top recruit gets a car or a fake job from a booster?

I'm the same way, but I use to be on the "don't pay them...they have a scholarship!" side, but screw that.
I say pay them and understand that they're going to accept gifts and money, as they're kids......a lot of players are given money all the time.

 

[FedEx227]

I've long given up on the "they have a scholarship" thing. They have so many football/sport commitments and the universities are making millions off these guys.

I was leaning towards the pay them from the university, but then you get into who gets paid, why does the star HB make the same as the backup kicker. Why does football get paid and women's lacrosse doesn't (we know why, but you have to keep up the Title IX facade).

So I say fuck it. If someone wants to buy the best guy on a team a car, cool, whatever. If you want to pay recruits to go to your school, do it in the open, whatever. The best players, the ones that technically generate the most revenue will receive rewards one way or another.

 

[JeremyHight]

Ya, all these athletes should be paid a stipend from how much the Athletic Departments make.

*** Looks at the AD budgets accross the nation. ***

Nevermind, if that happened, the average player would get a bill.

People who think college athletes should be paid (more than the easily $20,000 they are getting now per year through room and board, tuition, and books) don't understand that other than 2 sports, every other college sport is HURTING to make even the slightest profit and most are major money sinks.

 

[Atlas]

Ya, all these athletes should be paid a stipend from how much the Athletic Departments make.

*** Looks at the AD budgets accross the nation. ***

Nevermind, if that happened, the average player would get a bill.

People who think college athletes should be paid (more than the easily $20,000 they are getting now per year through room and board, tuition, and books) don't understand that other than 2 sports, every other college sport is HURTING to make even the slightest profit and most are major money sinks.

you are opening a can of worms, but the NCAA has more than enough money to foot the bill and pay for stipends for ALL athletes...

that being said, they are taking the Heisman away from Bush b/c the NCAA declared he was ineligible the year he won it, and by the Trust's interpretation of a Heisman winner, a person who is ineligible to play, is also ineligible for the Heisman...

 

[FedEx227]

Ya, all these athletes should be paid a stipend from how much the Athletic Departments make.

*** Looks at the AD budgets accross the nation. ***

Nevermind, if that happened, the average player would get a bill.

People who think college athletes should be paid (more than the easily $20,000 they are getting now per year through room and board, tuition, and books) don't understand that other than 2 sports, every other college sport is HURTING to make even the slightest profit and most are major money sinks.

I'm starting to see that, especially state schools which get budgets from likely bankrupt states. It's just not possible. But why don't we just let these guys get the gifts? Does it really matter that much anymore?

Is your enjoyment of college athletics heightened because of the facade that these guys are amateur athletes?

 

[Anthony]

2005 USC Trojans

Matt Leinart lost his starting job.
LenDale White out for the season.
Reggie Bush lost Kim Kardashian and is going to lose his Heisman.


The only true winner.

 

[FedEx227]

Yeah, it must really suck to be Matt Leinart or Reggie Bush.

 

[JeremyHight]

you are opening a can of worms, but the NCAA has more than enough money to foot the bill and pay for stipends for ALL athletes...

The NCAA governs 40,600 student athletes. According to their public budgets, they made $710,000,000 last year. In fantasy land, that would mean something along the lines of $17,487.68 per athlete.

But in reality, they pay roughly 111,000,000 for all the programs they provide for both students and members. So that $17,487.68 becomes $14,742.12.

Then they have to pay the workers at the NCAA, so there goes another $29,000,000. That $14,742.12 becomes $14,027.66.

Well, then they have championships to run in all the divisions, as those don't pay for themselves. There goes over $60,000,000 for just Division 1 and another $50,000,000 for Division 2 and 3 combined. So that $14,027.66 becomes $11,190.86.

But wait, those Division 1 schools who get money from the NCAA for different programs to help their student athletes want to keep those up. Plus, they want their fair share of the marketting money that the NCAA is making, it isn't fair that just the NCAA gets this money, so they have to give it back to the schools who pay membership fees and allow for such large TV deals. Plus, entire Athletic Departments are dependent on this money in order to keep up these athletic programs. Well, there goes over $410,000,000. So that $11,190.86 becomes a grand total off... $885.78.

Hmm... that doesn't nearly as nice as one would have thought.

source: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect...ERES&CACHEID=6d3874004e51aadc96e0d622cf56f2f3

 

[JeremyHight]

I'm starting to see that, especially state schools which get budgets from likely bankrupt states. It's just not possible. But why don't we just let these guys get the gifts? Does it really matter that much anymore?

Is your enjoyment of college athletics heightened because of the facade that these guys are amateur athletes?

I say that colleges should have two alternatives. They can either give a scholarship that has strings attached (no taking extra money, no gifts, no fake jobs, and etc.) or they can give no support what so ever (not even a scholarship), but the kids can accept gifts/free money. Either kids are on a strings attached athletic scholarship or given free reign. There shouldn't be an inbetween because policing it would be impossible and would just make it a bunch of haves and have nots.

No matter what athlete though, they'd never get the roughly $30,000+ from boosters like these kids are getting now through the university. Plus, it would be completely tied to their performance, so if they tank, they would be potentially in debt.

 

[FedEx227]

But where are we at now? We're basically at that point but continue pretending that these guys aren't getting gifts, fake jobs, homework done for them. These guys are receiving scholarships AND gifts AND fake jobs AND help on homework, but we just aren't acknowledging it until it becomes SO obvious that they investigate suspend some kids and do the same thing with the next batch.

To me it's just lying to themselves and being hypocritical.