Arguably one of the best college football players to ever play running back, Reggie Bush, fell victim to the dirty side of recruiting. Reggie Bush played for the University of Southern California and was one of the most talented players in the nation in 2004. It was no surprise to anyone that he would most likely become a first round draft pick in the NFL draft the following year. Many agents knew Reggie Bush’s potential to flourish in the NFL and make a ton of money. These agents wanted to convince Reggie Bush to choose them as his representative. In their attempt to convince Bush to hire an agent they gave gifts and money to him and his family. The NCAA does not allow any athlete to accept gifts from agents while they are still collegiate athletes. It was reported that Reggie Bush and his family accepted around 100,000 dollars worth of gifts during this time. During the 2005 football season Bush had an unbelievable athletic year and went on to receive the Heisman trophy. This trophy is given to one player each year, who is voted by a committee as the best player in the nation for that year. After the first set of accusations of Bush and his family accepting improper benefits, the NCAA ruled that he would have to forfeit his Heisman trophy, he was banned from the USC campus, and his memorabilia in the university were to be taken down. Reggie Bush went from helping his team win a championship in 2004, to being the most dominate football player in 2005, to now being banned from the university in which he performed for. Reggie Bush may have single handedly made USC tons of money, from jersey sales, ticket sales, television recognition, and championship titles (Ross). Since he did not see a single penny from any of those achievements he took money from potential future agents who had nothing to do with his success and the NCAA took it all away. I
Arguably one of the best college football players to ever play running back, Reggie Bush, fell victim to the dirty side of recruiting. Reggie Bush played for the University of Southern California and was one of the most talented players in the nation in 2004. It was no surprise to anyone that he would most likely become a first round draft pick in the NFL draft the following year. Many agents knew Reggie Bush’s potential to flourish in the NFL and make a ton of money. These agents wanted to convince Reggie Bush to choose them as his representative. In their attempt to convince Bush to hire an agent they gave gifts and money to him and his family. The NCAA does not allow any athlete to accept gifts from agents while they are still collegiate athletes. It was reported that Reggie Bush and his family accepted around 100,000 dollars worth of gifts during this time. During the 2005 football season Bush had an unbelievable athletic year and went on to receive the Heisman trophy. This trophy is given to one player each year, who is voted by a committee as the best player in the nation for that year. After the first set of accusations of Bush and his family accepting improper benefits, the NCAA ruled that he would have to forfeit his Heisman trophy, he was banned from the USC campus, and his memorabilia in the university were to be taken down. Reggie Bush went from helping his team win a championship in 2004, to being the most dominate football player in 2005, to now being banned from the university in which he performed for. Reggie Bush may have single handedly made USC tons of money, from jersey sales, ticket sales, television recognition, and championship titles (Ross). Since he did not see a single penny from any of those achievements he took money from potential future agents who had nothing to do with his success and the NCAA took it all away. I