Throughout his rich football career, Reggie Bush made one thing clear time and time again: you can’t give the guy an opening.
Fifteen years after The NCAA began investigating himin July 2021, college sports’ governing body did just that, releasing a statement alleging that Bush entered into a “pay-to-play-style arrangement” while he was at U.S.C. — a claim that was not part of the findings of the report that led to debilitating sanctions against the Trojans and Bush as early as 2010.
Suddenly, Bush had his opening. On Wednesday morning, he stormed out, returning to his former home of glory at the Coliseum to hold a news conference announcing that he had filed a defamation suit against the NCAA.
Beside him on the Coliseum roof terrace were his lawyers, Levi McCathern and Ben Crump, the prominent civil rights lawyer who notably represented the family of George Floyd. After Crump’s impassioned 12-minute speech with the downtown Los Angeles skyline sparkling in the sun behind him, Bush approached the lectern to speak.
“I dream of coming back to this stadium and coming out of this tunnel with the football team. I dream of coming back here and seeing my jersey and my banner right there, next to the rest of the Heisman Trophy winners,” Bush said, pointing to the peristyle end zone. “But I can’t legitimately do this without my Heisman Trophy.”
Crump, sweat beading on his forehead, reminded Bush that USC had actually asked him several times since the school’s 10-year estrangement from the star running back ended in 2020 to lead the team from the tunnel. But this seems to be a matter of principle for Bush. He won’t act like everything is fine and in the past until it actually is.
“I can’t wait to do it, but I can’t do it without my Heisman Trophy, without that banner in that end zone,” Bush reiterated.
Bush, at 38, looks in excellent physical shape, as if he could do it all over again if the Trojans would just give him a helmet, pads and cleats. But only he knows the consequences of all this inside. It never stopped eating away at him, even after he moved on to the NFL, won a Super Bowl, dated Kim Kardashian, started his own family here in Los Angeles, and became a national college football analyst for Fox in recent years.
On July 1, 2021, the day state law forced the NCAA to allow payment for the name, image and likeness of college athletes, Bush issued a public statement demanding that he get his trophy back Heisman. In response, the NCAA issued a statement that is now the keystone of this case, stating: “Although college athletes may now enjoy the benefits of their names, images and likenesses through activities such as endorsements and appearances, NCAA rules still do not allow compensation. -play type arrangements.
“The NCAA made a statement about me,” Bush said Wednesday, “accusing me of participating in a ‘pay-for-play’ agreement, which is completely false. Not only is it not true, but there is no evidence to support this claim. This wasn’t even part of the original NCAA investigation. So this is a new accusation, as far as I’m concerned, that has been echoed by all of you. All the media picked it up as if that’s the reason I’m not getting my Heisman Trophy back and why I’m not reinstated. And that’s not true. That’s what this lawsuit is about. is about truth, getting the facts out there and holding the NCAA accountable.
The phrase “pay to play” generally refers to athletes who would not play for a school if they were not paid, suggesting that benefits were a factor in the recruiting process. This is different from an agent offering gifts or payment in exchange for a potential share of future professional income.
Bush’s family was accused of receiving free housing and other benefits from family friend Lloyd Lake and future sports marketing representative Michael Michaels in San Diego. Neither represents the interests of USC.
The lawsuit and other documents shared by Bush’s lawyers, including a 39-page defense of Bush sent to NCAA Committee on Infractions – cite court rulings in former USC running backs coach Todd McNair’s defamation lawsuit against the NCAA. The McNair case, which was settled in 2018, suggested that the NCAA investigators who interviewed Lake were unprofessional and that the testimony would not hold up in court.
But most importantly in the Bush defamation case, the documents indicate that the NCAA never had proof that Bush was compensated by USC or a representative of the school, regardless of what may have happened. spend with Lake and Michaels.
“A misconception is that he was paid by USC to play football,” McCathern said Wednesday. “Some schools have done it. USC didn’t and Reggie never received a dime from USC. A second common misconception is that Reggie was paid by a sponsor, alumni, someone at the school, but that didn’t happen. Reggie was never paid to play.
“The violations they found, which were based on shoddy evidence and terrible work by the NCAA, were very marginal violations at best. Things like lending Reggie money to fix his car, allowing Reggie to change clothes before a Doak Walker ceremony in a hotel room, and their investigation was based on the testimony of a man whose testimony is questionable at best.
McCathern said he would like to see a resolution to the Bush situation — either through the lawsuit or their request for reconsideration with the NCAA Committee on Infractions — by the end of this football season.
“People watching this at home are going to see how wrong it is,” McCathern said. “The NCAA does not want to go against all popular opinions. If we did a poll, 99 out of 100 people want Reggie to get his Heisman back. There is yellow billboards that Reggie never asked forit’s been all over Los Angeles. I hope the NCAA bows to public opinion and does the right thing.
Crump acknowledged that a wave of public support for Bush could turn the tide.
“The district court told the NCAA they were wrong,” Crump shouted from the top of the Coliseum. “The California Court of Appeals told the NCAA it was wrong. The U.S. Supreme Court told the NCAA it was wrong. And the court of public opinion told the NCAA that it was wrong. How many more courts will have to tell the NCAA they are wrong before finally restoring Reggie Bush with his collegiate titles and records and his Heisman Trophy? How much time left? How many more years?
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