Here is USC athletic director Pat Haden on Reggie Bush giving back his Heisman Trophy.
“It was a very noble thing for Reggie to do. In my opinion, he made the right decision. It was a thoughtful decision by Reggie.
“It’s never a good thing to give a Heisman back. But at the end of the day, USC did the right thing when we gave our Heisman back and now Reggie did, too.
“Reggie was a fantastic football player, one of the most exciting players ever. But by his own admission today, he made some mistakes.”
Too little, too late in my opinion. Also, why give up now? (Flutie said they would have to physically remove his trophy from his hands). Bush must have gotten the word the it was being taken away, and they’d give him a shot to save what little face he has left. It’s like how he treated the Lake lawsuit…deny, deny, deny until the day or so before his deposition. In the process, Lake rats out Bush to the NCAA, and the rest is sordid history.
As for the USC Heismans:
Garrett – Nice AD career but the exit was bad
OJ – The scourge
White – Hit bottom before Robinson resurrected him
Allen – Super Bowl Champ. Al Davis’ worst move.
Palmer – Solid NFL career; time to win in playoffs?
Leinart – Greatest USC QB but buried behind Schaub.
Bush – Super Bowl champ. Super chump….and no longer in this category.
They all had great USC careers, thrilled us all, and deserve their place in Trojan lore…good or bad.
Well said, Mike.
Reggie’s forfeiting his Heisman was an admission of wrongdoing. If only he had admitted things earlier or used better judgment in his legal dealings with Lake, perhaps he might’ve mitigated the damage he and his parents caused USC and its current and future roster of players.