Reggie Bush decides to forfeit 2005 Heisman Trophy - ESPN Los Angeles Big story in LA because of the USC presence. Is Reggie being made an example of what the NCAA tries to do to student athletes ...make them sweat it out with no money in their pockets to live on?? , I guess in his case, his family was given $300 K in cash and benefits, but how many other players who won the trophy were ineligible or received some illegal benefits that got away with it?? Next question, should Vince Young who outplayed him in that years BCS Championship game be given the trophy despite falling second and 600 pts behind him or should the trophy be vacated. Lastly what trophy do you think Reggie regrets giving up more this year, the Heisman or Kim Karsdashian?
I think he broke the rules, so I guess he has to give it back. I just can't work up any indignation about an athlete who is making mega dollars for his University and risking his body while he is doing it...getting some financial reward. I'm trying but I just can't get angry about it.
If Reggie needed money, he coulda worked on or near campus. Certainly coulda worked during the off season. Not feelin sorry for him since he did wrong. Maybe now he can help to make change so that future student athletes can recieve a stipend. That would be a meaningful gesture... I say vacate the trophy since it was returned. It would be hard to say if Vince Young woulda won the trophy had Reggie not been in the running for the Voters...It would be interesting to see the voting for the Heisman that particular year...
Leinhart and Quinn were a distant 3rd and 4th: Heisman Voting Results, 1935-2005, Heisman Trophy Award, Manlyweb.com
Thanks. Actually, if one were to look at just the first place votes, then Reggie ran away with it by getting over 85% of those votes. Put the trophy back on the shelf. It would be like having a president with only 40% of the popular vote.
In the Olympics, when an athlete gets stripped of a Gold medal, the runner-up then trades in his Silver and gets awarded the Gold.
I'm pretty sure the Heisman is similar to Ebay where the recipient pays the shipping and handling. I'm sure Young will just put it on his PayPal account.
Reggie Bush's 2541 points is the second highest point total in terms of a runaway winner.....The best..the immortal OJ Simpson who tallied 2853 points in 1968....wonder where his trophy is.... 8 of the last 10 Heisman winners were QB's and none of them will make the hall of fame... in fact only eight of the 74 winners are in HOF...
Good point, Dre. In my opinion, if Suh couldn't win the award last season, then it just goes to show that the Heisman is a "skill player" award, not an award for the best player in college football, and that a lineman will NEVER win it. But I don't think college athletes should be getting compensated beyond their scholarships. Look at the group of scholarship athletes as a whole. A very small fraction of them are coming out behind, but they help to create value for large numbers of student athletes to get a college education free or at reduced cost. (I'm paraphrasing Gregg Easterbrook here). And I think paying student athletes would seriously undermine the collegiate education system. There are still some athletes that value the education they are getting. Let's not remove all incentive to get an education by paying athletes to play sports and just pretend to go to class for one or two years.
No doubt....they make me want to just go lie on the crouch and grab a few weinkes until I felt all white. They make me feel so wuerffel that I would probably end up in the hospital ward. I'd rather have an ingram toenail...
What possible reason would Bush have for passing on the 300K he was offered? He'd be an absolute fool to do so. If you want to talk education let's see what the USC coaches would have done if Bush decided he wanted to study medicine or some other time intensive thing that would have kept him from lifting and playing football. If you offer me $$ for something I am already doing then I am going take it.
