Why Reggie Bush lost his 2005 Heisman Trophy?

Reggie Bush got his Heisman Trophy revoked due to hindering with NCAA policies by taking money from a sports agency.

Why Reggie Bush lost his 2005 Heisman Trophy?

Reggie Bush (Image via Los Angeles Times)

Reggie Bush was one of those few players who showed their greatness while still playing at the college football level. Bush led the USC to back-to-back championships and eventually got his hands on the iconic Heisman Trophy in 2005.

Bush later had an illustrious NFL career as well where he won the Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints and had short stints with several other teams in the league.

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The former Bills RB won the Heisman Trophy for exceptional performance prior to the 2005 college football season. Unfortunately, he got his award revoked due a policy by NCAA. They imposed heavy sanctions on Bush and eventually revoked the iconic status from him.

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The incident occurred in 2010 and Bush got on with his life. Interestingly, the 38-year-old RB has started the quest to get his Heisman Trophy back and is doing all that is needed.

Bush recently sat down for an interview with I AM ATHLETE and spoke extensively about the controversy behind his Heisman Trophy being revoked.

“I never interviewed with the Heisman trust,” Bush said in a video with I AM ATHLETE. “We had a conference call, so they made a decision to take the Heisman Trophy based on a conference call, and based on some information they got through the NCAA. The NCAA didn’t do their homework.”

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Reggie Bush lost his Heisman Trophy for allegedly receiving money from a marketing agency

Reggie Bush
Reggie Bush (Image via CNN)

Before, the NCAA had a longstanding policy where college football could not be marketed and should only focus on football instead. Although that has changed now, it wasn’t the case when Reggie Bush got his Heisman Trophy revoked.

NCAA has recently passed a policy where players can make money through their name – branding. However, it is alleged that Reggie Bush did it before it was allowed and subsequently, his Heisman Trophy was taken away from him.

In 2006, numerous allegations surfaced suggesting that Bush and his family received improper benefits via a marketing agency that violated the NCAA rules and policies.

It is believed that a sports agent named Lloyd Lake apparently paid the Bush family a massive amount of money around $300,000. Lake later decided to cooperate with the NCAA in their investigation resulting in Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy being revoked.

Interestingly, the situation has started to gain steam yet again and maybe the former Saints RB will get his hands on the iconic Heisman Trophy again, years after his retirement from the NFL.

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