Reggie Bush getting his Heisman Trophy back is a bad look for college football | Bohls

Reggie Bush wins the Heisman.

Again.

Sure, he won in a landslide in 2005, only to have the trophy taken away because of impermissible benefits like money and free housing given to the USC tailback that are now the smallest of potatoes. So small, those benefits aren’t even in the food chain anymore.

In other words, Reggie got his award back Wednesday because that was then and this is now and today everything is totally different.

And that’s a mistake.

Why?

Because it’s precedent-setting. Just because amateurism is dead now doesn’t mean it was dead then.

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A deserving win, but also a deserving punishment

This isn’t to say Bush wasn’t one of the greatest players ever in college football. He was. But he broke the rules. Pure and simple. Do we go back and correct all sins or omissions per the existing rules at the time?

By accepting weekly payments and rent-free housing for himself and his family, Bush chose not to abide by the NCAA rules. At the time. Yes, I get that. Heck, he was even found guilty of a free limousine ride to the Heisman ceremony in New York. If that ain’t the definition of the type of overzealous silliness the NCAA investigated, nothing is.

However, Bush’s violations were considered serious enough that the Heisman Trust stripped him of the award, a prize he won with over 90% of the first-place votes. Heck, USC was put on a very severe NCAA probation that included a two-year bowl ban and the forfeiture of 30 scholarships over three years. That’s as major as it gets.

Bush reclaiming the Heisman is a slippery slope

So should the NCAA fix this, too, and allow USC an extra 30 scholarships over the next three years? Lord knows Lincoln Riley could use them to field a respectable defense. Should USC also recreate those talented teams and play two mythical bowls apparently it’s now eligible for? Maybe Pete Carroll would actually give the ball to Reggie on a critical play if he’s allowed a do-over in 2024.

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On Wednesday, the Trust had a new message about its harsh penalty:

Never mind.

I totally understand the tidal wave of support for Bush to be reinstated as a Heisman winner. I do. And amateurism is dead. But should we rewrite all of history accordingly? Everyone from Johnny Manziel — who also may have shattered a rule or two with payments for autograph sessions while he was at Texas A&M and was handed a punishment of sorts with a whole half-game suspension against Rice — to Robert Griffin III to Bush teammate Matt Leinart celebrated the moment.

I get it. Bush was a great player.

And nowhere in the instructions to the nearly 1,000 Heisman voters does it say the player must be a saint. Bush was eventually, playing in New Orleans for five seasons and helped the Saints win a Super Bowl.

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Let me be clear. I don’t regale against this decision. I just worry about the slippery slope we may be approaching. This could have far-reaching implications that go well beyond this one award. And does the NCAA also endorse the move since it and the Heisman Trust are separate entities?

Doubtful, I’d say. Because if the NCAA does return USC’s vacated BCS national championship in 2004, what’s stopping other teams on probation from pushing for the same with reviewed cases? That doesn’t diminish their greatness. I was there at the Orange Bowl where the Trojans totally dismantled Oklahoma.

Next thing you know others could join the fray and try to correct past errors or omissions or readdress a change in rules.

Do the Trojans also get that stripped national championship back? Can Pete Carroll go back in time and stay at USC — he left before the sanctions were levied — and continue its dynasty?

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Should we go back and re-vote other years, given changing circumstances?

Could the NCAA really un-kill SMU in 1987 after delivering the only death penalty in history to the Southwest Conference school since so much of those money payments in an elaborate scandal are completely acceptable today? The Mustangs are still suffering, having wandered in the college football wilderness since then.

Yes, SMU has finally found a place at the big boys’ table, albeit at the possibly crumbling any minute ACC. But it still forfeits any ACC revenue for a decade. I guess that’s a win of sorts.

Does Pete Rose get in the Hall of Fame because of new lenience? Shoeless Joe Jackson in Cooperstown?

I mean, where does it end?

When sins are forgiven quicker than student loans

The NCAA has long vacated wins and Final Four appearances like Michigan’s Fab Five over impermissible benefits and Saint Joseph’s basketball team involved in a gambling scandal and bowl victories.

Hey, Bush was the clear winner of the award over an equally deserving runner-up. Name escapes me.

Bush was an electric running back who surpassed 2,200 yards from scrimmage and scored 18 touchdowns. He received 784 of the 892 first-place votes, which were the fifth-most in Heisman history.

(As part of my ongoing community service, consider this the 2,416,742nd apology for not voting for Vince Young. I did vote the Texas quarterback second on my 2005 ballot, which in itself is hardly an insult, but wasn’t sufficient in compliance with his otherworldly talent. Plus, I’ve always thought VY should have gotten the trophy when Bush was forced to give it up. Still do.)

The Heisman Trust explained it this way.

The decision to reinstate the Heisman Trophy was based on a "deliberative process" by the Heisman Trust to monitor a sea change in college athletics in recent years. The Trust cited "fundamental changes in college athletics" in which rules that have allowed "student athlete compensation" to become "an accepted practice and appears here to stay.”

So past sins are forgiven quicker than student loans.

Just not sure where this might lead although it’s pretty clear the Trust wanted to get back into Bush’s good graces. Can’t say the same yet for the NCAA since he has sued it for defamation. But it could be intriguing to watch.

"We are thrilled to welcome Reggie Bush back to the Heisman family in recognition of his collegiate accomplishments," Michael Comerford, president of The Heisman Trophy Trust, said in his statement. "We considered the enormous changes in college athletics over the last several years in deciding that now is the right time to reinstate the trophy for Reggie. We are so happy to welcome him back.”

You can expect Bush to be prominent in new ads for the Heisman House. Maybe Reggie will even get paid for them. Up front and all.

There's a lot of folks like the Heisman Trust who would also like a do-over. I know I can think of one.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Reggie Bush regains Heisman Trophy, but is more change coming?