Reggie Bush suing NCAA for defamation, wants Heisman Trophy back
One of the greatest college football players of all-time officially announced that he was filing a lawsuit against the NCAA for "defamation of character," tracing back to a particular choice of words in 2021.
Rumored since Tuesday night, USC Trojans legend and former NFL running back Reggie Bush held a press conference at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a stadium where he electrified a nation as the star of the early 2000s Trojans under then-head coach Pete Carroll. Alongside his lawyer – noted civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump – Bush spoke with the media on hand about his choice of venue and the reasoning behind the legal action.
Bush is suing the NCAA based on a 2021 statement made to the media by one of the organization's spokesmen, who said the former collegiate star was in a "pay-for-play arrangement" during his time on campus.
Per ESPN, the exact words were:
"Although college athletes can now receive benefits from their names, images and likenesses through activities like endorsements and appearances, NCAA rules still do not permit pay-for-play type arrangements," an NCAA spokesperson said in that statement. "The NCAA infractions process exists to promote fairness in college sports. The rules that govern fair play are voted on, agreed to and expected to be upheld by all NCAA member schools."
Bush contends that he was not involved in that scheme directly with USC, but with a would-be sports agent who not affiliated with the school. That matters because Bush not only wants his college records restored, but a return of an incredibly valuable piece of hardware.
Back in 2010, Bush gave up his 2005 Heisman Trophy after the NCAA completed a lengthy, high-profile investigation into impermissible benefits that he and his family received while he was at USC. Bush and his family were found to have received cash, travel expenses and a home in the San Diego area where he's from. The Heisman Trust stated that it would "welcome him back to the Heisman family" if the NCAA restored his records.
The NCAA handed down significant sanctions on the school as well, stripping the football program of 30 scholarships, the final two wins in the 2004 season, all wins in 2005, and two seasons of probation in 2010 and 2011. By that time, Carroll had already resigned from USC and taken over as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
The advent of NIL (name, image and likeness) deals dramatically changed how student-athletes are compensated beyond athletic scholarships, and it reopened a sullied chapter in the histories of both USC and the NCAA. Bush himself hoped that the NIL era would give way to getting his award back and his records restored by the NCAA. It appears that just as the NCAA made an example out of Bush because of his budding collegiate fame in the 2000s, he's striking back with his own high-profile lawsuit to affect change.
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