Heisman Trophy History: Former Trojan Reggie Bush To Forfeit Honor

After much debate it is official;  Reggie Bush, now a member of the New Orleans Saints ,has publicy announced that he will be forfeiting his 2005 Heisman Trophy.

What a fall from grace Bush has had after a tremendous collegiate career at USC.  It was Bush who received ineligible benefits during the 2004 and 2005 seasons while playing as a collegiate athlete at Southern Cal.

It is not a surprising move by Bush, because many analysts believed that if he didn't chose to give up the trophy than it would have been vacated from him.  The Heisman Club knew that something had to be done, because Reggie Bush didn't play by the rules.

Bush released a statement to the public where he wanted to let people know he came about making this difficult decision.

"One of the greatest honors of my life was winning the Heisman Trophy in 2005," the statement said. "For me, it was a dream come true. And I know that any young man fortunate enough to win the Heisman enters into a family of sorts. Each individual carries the legacy of the award and each one is entrusted with its good name. It is for these reasons that I have made the difficult decision to forfeit my title as Heisman winner of 2005."

Now there is a lot of controversy whether or not the Trophy should go to Vince Young.  Everyone remembers the unforgettable performance he put on in the Rose Bowl to defeat USC in winning the national championship in 2005.

I believe that justice is served leaving the Trophy vacated.  Bush had a phenomenal season and was rightly voted as the winner of the Heisman Trophy.  Vince Young seems to be content with the decision of leaving the year with a vacated Heisman.

Young showed the world what type of skills he had when he led his Texas team to a thrilling game-winning drive in the Rose Bowl.  Even five years later both Bush and Young have had a lot of ups and downs as far as their NFL playing careers are concerned.

Bush did recently win a Super Bowl championship with the New Orleans Saints back in February.  It has been one of his better achievements in the last year.

His USC Trojans were hit hard with recruiting violations and sanctions because of the benefits that Bush received back in 2004 and 2005.  They lost 30 scholarship players over three years and have been banned from a bowl game this year.

It really isn't fair to the kids who went to USC to play football, but Pete Carroll and his staff didn't comply to NCAA Rules and Regulations and now they are suffering.

It is still too early to see what type of effect it has down the line, because Lane Kiffin could be successful there. 

Nevertheless, Reggie Bush has once and for all forfeited the Heisman Trophy he won in what was a spectacular 2005 season.