2005 Heisman Trophy returned to Reggie Bush
SAN DIEGO — There will be plenty who argue the decision announced Wednesday to return the 2005 Heisman Trophy to San Diego native Reggie Bush simply is an acknowledgment of right versus wrong.
Bush lost the trophy in 2010 in the wake of an impermissible benefits scandal that rocked USC, stripping the storied program of the 2004 national title, wins and a boat load of scholarships.
In reality, it’s a confirmation of our rapidly changing times.
You’re accountable to the rules in place at the time. You can argue about the merit of those rules, poke and prod at the common sense upon which they’re based and shout at clouds about fairness in a sport where stars brokered backroom deals for generations.
In the end, things change. Sands shift. Public opinion pivots. It happens all across the sports landscape.
The steroid era in baseball caused emotional rifts in the game from players who played by the rules while others benefited by gaining an edge, soaking up the contract riches those advantages leveraged.
To this day, Hall of Fame voting is an annual referendum on polarized viewpoints ranging from “rules are rules” to “everybody was doing it” and “it’s not a character contest.”
In horse racing, million-dollar races can be reshaped by drug tests. In a blink, what’s banned or prohibited one year could be completely acceptable for someone else later.
No corner of the sports universe, however, has been flipped on its axis so completely as colleges. Transfer rules, once rigid in the name of protecting academics and de-incentivizing the volume of hired guns, have morphed from brick walls to tissue paper.
The rules that cost Bush his Heisman and sent USC spinning essentially have vanished in two years. Now, deals related to name, image and likeness (NIL) can stretch into the stratosphere. It has been a leveling of the playing field unmatched in other ways.
You can be a Bayou gymnast or women’s basketball player in the heartland, piling up more money and opportunities than men. You don’t need to be a football or men’s basketball player to find success as the pendulum swings, which is a tremendously good thing in myriad ways.
Stir in the fact that the NCAA, the ultimate sheriff and arbiter of the past, has become toothless and adrift. The courts, starting with UCLA star Ed O’Bannon’s push for player rights, have
upheld that the horse not only is out of the barn ... but halfway to Montana.
All that change is stacked upon more change.
Just six years ago, wiretapped conversations between a would-be agent and assistant coach about paying Arizona star Deandre Ayton led the FBI to the door of Wildcats coach Sean Miller. Now, people talk openly about San Diego State transfer Keshad Johnson reportedly being paid $400,000 to play basketball in Tucson.
It’s not just changing
times, but the warp speed at which it’s happening.
There’s little to no argument — and shouldn’t be — that Bush, the former Helix High School star, was the best college player in 2005. He raced to 2,890 all-purpose yards in a Heisman runaway. He finished with the fifth most first-place votes in the history of the award.
Bush was electric and transcendent, playing 11 NFL seasons and winning a Super Bowl ring with the Saints to close 2009.
The Heisman Trust acknowledged
that what changed was the times.
President Michael Comerford, in a statement: “We considered the enormous changes in college athletics over the last several years in deciding that now is the right time to reinstate the Trophy for Reggie.”
At one point, Bush complained he could not get a call returned as he pleaded his case to Heisman bosses. Today, the same group put out a social media blast that gushed “Welcome Home!”
Those in charge of the stiff-arming trophy said they were “thrilled” Bush was regaining his football among the gilded grid set. That’s about as 180 as 180-degree turns get.
Count Bush as another indicator that the old ways have been curb-stomped and tossed into the rubbish bin. The money in college sports is no longer solely locked up in the palace vaults.
It has become more and more difficult to penalize those who benefited from their ability and bankability, especially in the near term. It’s a slippery slope to go back and lift sanctions without end, but the situation with Bush still felt fresh enough.
USC, meanwhile, gains back a smidge of prestige. The trophy return means the Trojans again have eight Heisman winners, the most in the college game.
The circumstances that led Bush to losing the trophy remain the same, no matter what was trumpeted Wednesday. Best player? Yes. Created massive fallout for USC for allegations of violating the rules at the time? Yes.
The talent is undeniable. The damage inflicted, undeniable as well. That makes the right-versus-wrong sense of this more than murky. It’s not applicable.
Bush receiving his Heisman is not vindication. It’s clear validation though, that as they say, the times, they are a-changin.’