Reggie Bush returned to the L.A. Memorial Colisseum as a Heisman Trophy winner for the first time since it was forfeited in 2010. His words at an announcement press conference today were triumphant
Reggie Bush: I’ve always felt like football is the game of life.
Bush’s forfeiture closely followed an NCAA investigation that found he had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars while in college. Collegiate athletes were barred from collecting merchandising or game revenue until 2021 - when the Supreme Court stepped in - and ruled that players could be compensated for their service.
The Heisman Trust, a governing body in charge of the reward, rolled back their decision Wednesday following what they called, “fundamental changes in college athletics.”
Bush spoke about the importance of integrity for high-level athletes after taking the podium at the conference.
Bush: You can’t get to this or a national championship by cheating. You can’t. It takes a team of strong-minded people fighting for the same goal, working together. It takes coaches, it takes players, front office. It’s an entire team that goes into winning and being successful on the football field.
Bush also explained how the trophy mirrors the conflicts of his football career, and how the field conditioned him for the fight to clear his name.
Bush: Even through fighting for this Heisman trophy - knowing that I just had to keep fighting, keep going, keep believing, never give up - you know all the things that they teach you in football. And I think that’s what’s unique about this situation. You learn so much of how to fight on that football field, you learn how to come back. We had to fight to come back.
Bush expressed gratitude for those who stood with him through his Heisman exile, and reaffirmed his belief that hard work will always bring the game home.
Bush: I want to thank my beautiful wife... for just being my stress reliever whenever I needed to just talk about the things that were bothering me, the things that were keeping me up late at night.
Trojan football fans can look forward to a strong season next year and look back to a newly restored legacy.
For Annenberg Media, I’m Nick Virnich