Reggie Bush regarded out final August from the rooftop deck of the Coliseum, the stadium the place he grew to become a star 20 years earlier, flanked by attorneys on both facet. The famed Trojan again was within the stadium to announce a lawsuit in opposition to the NCAA, a gap salvo within the authorized battle to clear his title. However for a second, between photographs on the NCAA, Bush let himself think about a day when his Heisman Trophy was returned and he might as soon as once more lead USC’s soccer staff out onto the sector beneath.
“I’ve got dreams of coming back in this stadium and running out of that tunnel,” Bush stated. “I’ve got dreams of walking back in here and seeing my jersey and my banner right down there next to the rest of the Heisman Trophy winners. But I can’t rightfully do that without my Heisman Trophy.”
These goals had been deferred throughout a decade of NCAA-imposed exile, when USC was pressured to disassociate completely from Bush. Resentment festered within the meantime, as Bush and his friends questioned why the college hadn’t fought tougher to defend him.
The connection remained sophisticated, even after USC formally welcomed Bush again in 2020. However three years later, efforts have been being taken by USC to restore it. The varsity had simply collectively filed a petition with Bush and his attorneys to foyer the NCAA for reconsideration in its 2010 case. Jennifer Cohen, who had simply taken the job as USC’s athletic director, was already signaling an eagerness to deliver Bush again into the Trojan household. Help for the previous Trojan star now stretched all the best way as much as the workplace of USC president Carol Folt, who personally signed off on the petition to the NCAA.
When Bush bought the Heisman again in April, USC toasted the trophy’s “rightful return” and praised Bush for displaying “the utmost resiliency and heart throughout this process.” That summer season, with the trophy now in hand, USC and Bush’s staff started discussing dates for his tunnel dream to grow to be a actuality.
On Aug. 28, in an interview with The Instances, Bush stated the 2 sides hadn’t settled on a date, however that plans for him to guide USC’s soccer staff out of the tunnel have been “definitely in the works.”
“I can’t wait for it to happen,” he stated. “My wife and kids will be there as well. It will be an amazing day and an amazing opportunity, and I look forward to that day.”
“It’s not even something USC would need to ask me. It’s already a yes.”
In actuality, Bush and USC had already set a date for his triumphant return, just for the working again to reverse course. The 2 sides agreed in early August that Bush can be honored forward of the house opener in opposition to Utah State on Sept. 7. Preparations have been already being made on the Coliseum to retire his quantity and immortalize his No. 5 jersey within the stadium.
Former USC working again Reggie Bush speaks at a press convention on the Coliseum in August 2023.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Instances)
However the identical week that Bush advised The Instances how keen he was to guide the Trojans out of the tunnel, Bush’s staff advised USC that the timing wasn’t proper.
Earlier than Bush bought concerned with USC once more, he and his authorized staff had two requests from the college, Levi McCathern, his legal professional, advised The Instances.
Primary was for USC to “get behind us and try and get these records reinstated” by the NCAA.
“He felt like USC should get strongly behind that effort,” McCathern stated of Bush.
Quantity two was the bolder ask: Bush believed USC ought to reimburse the working again for “the attorneys’ fees that he incurred trying to get the Heisman Trophy.”
“Can you look at how much money Reggie spent out of his pocket on attorneys? Which is a lot, because he had attorneys before me as well trying to get the Heisman Trophy back,” McCathern stated. “Could you look at that and see if you couldn’t reimburse him some of the money he did, since y’all now have the trophy sitting in your [lobby] that you use with recruits and all that?”
McCathern stated he was “almost embarrassed talking … about how reasonable” their requests have been. The college declined anyway.
“Part of getting Reggie’s Heisman back, we got the Heisman back for USC as well. So their trophy was returned to them. Which is obviously something they can use to market,” McCathern continued. “But there still wasn’t really any interest at all from them in trying to reimburse Reggie for what he had to do to get it back. And again, without getting too deep into the entire process, obviously no one on the non-Reggie Bush side was rushing forward to try and right the wrongs that happened to Reggie.”
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Nonetheless, Bush was on the sideline, smiling in USC gear, earlier than the Trojans’ season opener in Las Vegas. However behind the scenes, USC and Bush’s attorneys had reached a stalemate.
“Reggie got tired of waiting,” McCathern stated.
The launch was the primary USC had heard of Bush’s plans to file swimsuit.
The criticism states that USC, in addition to the NCAA and Pac-12, “reaped a tremendous financial reward from using Reggie Bush’s name, image and likeness while he was playing college football on television” and that Bush is now “entitled to restitution of all profits earned by defendants” by means of use of his title.
How a lot Bush is asking for in restitution from USC and the opposite two defendants is unclear. McCathern stated that specialists advised him USC made “hundreds of millions” off of his consumer’s title, picture and likeness by means of numerous income streams. McCathern additionally advised The Instances he by no means truly broached the subject of again NIL pay with USC earlier than the lawsuit was filed. He stated that was as a result of the college already denied the request to pay attorneys’ charges.
“The next step in that process obviously would’ve been talking about, can we get some small percentage?” McCathern stated.
Now these efforts to recoup what Bush believes he’s owed have spilled into public view, leaving USC in a clumsy place with one in all its greatest and most seen stars. A relationship that after gave the impression to be on the mend might by no means be totally repaired.
USC declined to touch upon any specifics of Bush’s lawsuit. However in an announcement to The Instances, USC stated assist for Bush would endure despite the continued litigation.
“USC loves Reggie,” a college spokesperson stated. “Our fans love Reggie. He is at the core of some of the best memories in our storied tradition. Our goal throughout this entire process has been to ensure the Trojan Family can celebrate Reggie and all he has accomplished at every opportunity. That is what motivated us as we worked to have his Heisman Trophy reinstated in the spring. That is what motivated us as we returned No. 5 to the Peristyle inside the Coliseum this fall. That is what motivates us as we engage with the Big Ten and NCAA to discuss the potential of having his records reinstated. That is why we have invited him back to the Coliseum to lead the team out of the tunnel.
“It’s also why we were surprised, in the midst of an ongoing dialogue with Reggie’s team, to find out about this lawsuit through a press release. We can’t comment on the lawsuit because it’s ongoing. That said, Reggie is a Trojan for life, and we remain committed to restoring and honoring his legacy and celebrating him with our fans at every opportunity.”
Bush and his authorized staff now imagine that legacy will sometime embody Bush as “the face of this step for other college athletes” who hope to recoup misplaced NIL pay. His defamation case in opposition to the NCAA additionally stays ongoing, despite the group’s many efforts to throw out the case.
McCathern reiterated that the NCAA, not USC, was nonetheless the central focus of Bush’s authorized ire. He added that he welcomed the prospect to “talk with USC about any ways to work these things out. Or any of the other defendants.”
“I wish everybody would sit down around a table and just work things out, but unfortunately, it seems like that’s not the way things happen in our society,” McCathern stated.
Bush, his legal professional says, remains to be hopeful that he can restore the connection along with his alma mater. Albeit with sure circumstances.
“I think USC oughta sit down and take a look at what they made off of Reggie,” McCathern stated, “and see if they don’t think it’s fair that Reggie gets some portion of that back.”
