USC Trojans legend Reggie Bush had his 2005 Heisman Trophy stripped due to a high-profile NCAA investigation that determined Bush received impermissible benefits during his time at USC. In an era where athletes are now allowed to profit from their name, image, and likeness, that decision has been met by a lot of scrutiny, and now Johnny Manziel is taking a stand in support of Bush.
On Saturday morning, Johnny Manziel announced a pretty major move against the Heisman Trophy in support of Reggie Bush as Manziel made it clear that he will no longer be involved with the Heisman Trophy ceremony until Bush’s trophy is returned.
“After careful thought and consideration I will be humbly removing myself from the Heisman trophy ceremony until @ReggieBush gets his trophy back. Doesn’t sit right with my morals and values that he can’t be on that stage with us every year. Reggie IS the Heisman trophy,” Manziel said in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
After careful thought and consideration I will be humbly removing myself from the Heisman trophy ceremony until @ReggieBush gets his trophy back. Doesn’t sit right with my morals and values that he can’t be on that stage with us every year. Reggie IS the Heisman trophy.
Do the…
— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) March 2, 2024
The Heisman Trophy has said that it would reinstate Bush’s Heisman Trophy if the NCAA reinstated his records from the 2005 season, determining that a player “must be in compliance with the bylaws defining an NCAA student athlete” to be eligible for the award.
Manziel seems to acknowledge this, as he called on the NCAA to act.
“Do the RIGHT thing @NCAA the ball is in your court,” Manziel said.
We’ll have to see whether or not Bush gets his Heisman Trophy back.
