One of the best elements of the annual Heisman Trophy ceremony is the return of past winners of the award. Nearly every Heisman Trophy winner is invited back to celebrate the newest member of the fraternity, with many of the older winners taking advantage and showing up in support.
While the more recent winners are less likely to appear on the stage in New York, as many are still in the NFL, one recent exception is former Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel.
Manziel, whose NFL career flamed out, is a regular at the Heisman Trophy ceremony. But that's evidently about to change.
Manziel plans to boycott future ceremonies until former USC RB Reggie Bush has his Heisman Trophy returned, Manziel revealed on social media ahead of the 2024 ceremony.
"After careful thought and consideration I will be humbly removing myself from the Heisman trophy ceremony," Manziel tweeted, saying he would not return until Bush's trophy is returned. The situation with Bush "doesn’t sit right with my morals and values that he can’t be on that stage with us every year," he added.
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.
— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) March 2, 2024
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Bush, whose trophy was vacated in 2010, has been campaigning for the award to be reinstated since 2021.
That campaign ended Wednesday, as Bush will reportedly get his Heisman Trophy back, per Pete Thamel of ESPN. Bush's Heisman was returned due to "enormous changes in the college football landscape." The NCAA now allows athletes to profit off their name, imagine and likeness, which is the reason Bush had the award taken away from him.
Here's what you need to know about the controversy that resulted in Bush being stripped of his Heisman Trophy in the first place.
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Reggie Bush Heisman controversy, explained
USC was slammed with sanctions in 2010 after the NCAA determined that Bush received numerous gifts from an agent during his time with the Trojans.
NCAA rules prohibited Bush from profiting off his name and likeness at the time. USC got in trouble for its lack of oversight in the situation, and Bush's position coach was found to have known about Bush's involvement with agents.
Bush, who played in the NFL from 2006 to 2016, voluntarily forfeited his 2005 Heisman Trophy, though that came amid reports that he would be stripped of the award. Bush later said that the NCAA offered the Heisman Trophy to either Vince Young or Matt Leinart, though that has never been confirmed.
On the Heisman Trust's online list of winners, 2005 is skipped, and the award is officially considered to be vacated.
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While the NCAA can't make anyone forget that Bush did indeed win the Heisman Trophy in 2005, the ex-running back wanted the award restored. The arrival of NIL guidelines in 2021 led Bush to campaign for the trophy to be returned to him.
The NCAA quickly rebuffed the idea that his infractions would be revisited. The Heisman Trust did, however, say his award would be restored if the NCAA were to reinstate Bush's 2005 season.
In the years since, that tune changed, leading to Wednesday's announcement. The Heisman Trophy Trust said the acceptance of college players being compensated led to Bush getting his award back.
With the news, Manziel — and now Bush — can return to the stage when the Heisman Trophy is given out next season.