BREAKING NEWS: Reggie Bush will give back his Heisman

Reggie Bush and what was his Heisman/File

A release, given by the New Orleans Saints, on their website says that 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush has decided to give up his trophy.

Bush, the target of an investigation that helped put his alma mater USC on probation said in his statement, . that "The persistent media speculation regarding allegations dating back to my years at USC has been both painful and distracting. In no way, should the storm around these allegations reflect in any way on the dignity of this award, nor on any other institutions and individuals."

He also added that "For the rest of my days, I will continue to strive to demonstrate through my actions and words that I was deserving of the confidence placed in me by the Heisman Trophy Trust.

Wow! This is a bit of a stunner. There was talk that the Trust might be considering taking the trophy away and in fact, this may an offer for an easy way out to save face. We don't know, nor may we ever know that.

Either way, this is a shocker and while it won't fix the allegations or problems that it has caused for everyone involved, hopefully, everyone else will move on to another story.

The Debate over Reggie Bush's Heisman Trophy...

Reggie Bush and his Heisman/Courtesy: Stephen Chernin/Getty Images

Quite possibly the biggest talker story of the day (no, not stalker) is the meandering story of what might or might not happen to the 2005 Heisman Trophy won by Reggie Bush.

Yahoo Sports came out with a report early this morning which quoted sources as saying that the folks behind the Heisman were preparing to take the award back from Bush. Not only take it back, but wipe mention of him from the record.

Read the whole story from Yahoo Sports, RIGHT HERE

We didn't report it early today, because we weren't sure how much of it to believe. We say that despite generally being big fans of Yahoo Sports reporting.

Later this afternoon, in an interview with a producer for the Dan Patrick show, comes word that Rob Whalen, the executive director of the Heisman Trophy Trust said that the Yahoo story is completely false.
Hmmmm....

Check out the story from the DP Show, RIGHT HERE

This is getting pretty interesting. We should note the statement at the bottom of the DP Show story, that being a statement from the Heisman Trust. In that statement, they don't deny at least discussing the issue. Now, they don't say that they are or aren't considering doing something...in fact they just say they are still considering it.

We think that eventually the Trust will do something, though it may take awhile. We don't necessarily agree with it, what's done is done in our opinion. While we don't condone what happened at USC and with Bush, the fact remains he was pretty darn good player during his time with the Trojans. Perhaps it should be considered more of an indictment on the either ignorance or non-chalance of the administration there. Either way, it sets a really, really dangerous precedent.

Here is some video of Mr. Bush from his days in Trojan Land. Courtesy: 11 Prodigy/YouTube:

BREAKING NEWS: USC To Return Bush's Heisman Trophy

((HT: KCBS-TV))

Future-Incoming, and Currently Interim, USC President Max Nikias said the school will return Reggie Bush's trophy to the Heisman Trophy Trust next month.

The HQ thinks, along with most conventional wisdom, that the trophy may be vacated and that this is a move to extend what goodwill USC has left in the college football community.

The school also said that it will take down anything, and the HQ means anything, with Bush or O.J. Mayo on it, the other major figure in the four-year NCAA investigation that ended about a month ago.

"The Trojan Family honors and respects the USC sporting careers of those persons whose actions did not compromise their athletic program or the opportunities of future USC student-athletes," Nikias said.

This is all setting up the idea of a house-cleaning in the USC Athletic Department. OSG Sports reported earlier today that Pat Haden is taking over for a "retiring" Mike Garrett in early August as AD, and that JK McKay will be given the newly-created role of a university "liaison" between the Athletic Department and the individual teams themselves.

More when we know more...

Here's some highlights of Bush, that might have to be vacated or turned into "un-highlights..." by the time the NCAA is done...
((HT: NCAA/kneekeel8))

Reggie Bush is still haunting USC....

((ht: yahoo sports))

Our friends at Yahoo Sports have been on top of this story from the get go. Reggie Bush, Heisman Trophy winner, star at USC and now with the New Orleans Saints of the NFL, is a centerpiece in the NCAA's investigation of recruiting issues at USC.

Yahoo had reported, as far back as 2006 on Bush accepting money, a large amount of money from a marketing agency so that they could represent him. That story, broke open a large can of worms and the NCAA has been investigating USC since then.

Late in 2009, the school went before an NCAA panel to find out what trouble they might be in. The panel hesitated because they wanted information in regards to Bush's issues. It appears that they won't be getting them.

More from Yahoo Sports RIGHT HERE

The settlement will keeps the details of Bush's relationship with New Era sports, the marketing company private and not available for other court cases. While this may or may not have an impact on USC's numerous issues, it probably will absolve Bush as being the centerpiece of them.

Here is the aforementioned Mr. Bush in a mashup video from You Tube:

Mayo And Bush Probes Combined

The NCAA has combined its investigations of two former USC star athletes into a single probe of the Trojans' athletic program, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In separate investigations, the NCAA has been looking into allegations that Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and NBA lottery pick O.J. Mayo both received improper benefits while at USC ((both pictured, thanks LA Times)).

The attorneys for Louis Johnson, a former associate of Mayo, said that in a meeting with a Pacific 10 Conference executive, they were told that the NCAA had combined the two probes into a larger investigation of whether USC had shown a lack of institutional control, according to the Times.

"It makes sense," attorney Anthony V. Salerno said, according to the Times. "The NCAA looks at the program as a whole, and you may be talking about systemic problems in these cases of payments by agents. Yes, these were different teams and coaches. Rather than do it piecemeal, look at the institution."

Salerno and David Murphy represent Johnson, a former associate of Mayo and Rodney Guillory, who Johnson says received more than $200,000 in cash and gifts from a representative of the BDA Sports Management agency and passed along some of those gifts to Mayo.

Bush is alleged to have accepted thousands of dollars in benefits for himself and his family in the form of rent owed on a home owned by a would-be sports marketer.

Both athletes have said they did nothing wrong.

The NCAA and a Pac-10 investigator declined to comment, while Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hanson could not be reached for comment, the Times reported.

USC basketball coach Tim Floyd said he hasn't talked to the NCAA since May and has "never, ever heard" that the investigations were being combined, the Times reported. Football coach Pete Carroll could not be reached for comment, according to the report.