USC legend Reggie Bush, who won the 2005 Heisman Trophy but then had the award stripped from him, is tired of waiting. He is tired of waiting for this trophy to be given back to him. He is tired of enduring what he thinks is an injury to his reputation, all while 2012 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel (in a recent documentary) was plainly involved in all sorts of entanglements without being given the same scale or severity of penalties Bush has had to deal with.
That difference between Bush’s and Manziel’s separate fates is one of several reasons why Bush decided to do what he did on Tuesday: Go forward with a defamation lawsuit against the NCAA. The suit is expected to be filed on Wednesday.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura obtained a statement from Bush’s legal team:
“‘The lawsuit is based on the NCAA maliciously attacking his character through a completely false and highly offensive statement that was widely reported in the media and substantially and irreparably damaged his reputation,’ according to a statement from law firm McCathern, PLLC.
“The NCAA statement in question was issued to ESPN, along with other media outlets, on July 28, 2021, in response to an inquiry about the possibility of Bush having his records and participation restored in light of changes to name, image and likeness rules that went into effect earlier that month.”
This isn’t just about the 2005 Heisman, as you can plainly see, but the shift in college sports’ rules governing the income athletes can make has cast Bush’s actions in a different light. We will see what happens.
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