Even If Reggie Bush Broke Rules, He Won't Lose His Heisman

If recent reports are to be believed, Reggie Bush broke more than tackles at Southern California. It's alleged that he violated rules by accepting money and gifts for himself and his family from competing sports agents while he played for the Trojans.

The NCAA will investigate. Depending on the findings, USC could forfeit a national title and a spectacular era of Trojans football would be sullied.

This could happen.

But I know what won't happen.

Reggie Bush will not lose his Heisman Trophy.

A lot of people seem to think he could, and their logic appears to be sound. When Reggie Bush and his family took things from agents, he became an ineligible player. An ineligible player can't win the Heisman.

But do you really think the New York Downtown Athletic Club actually would strip Reggie Bush of his bauble? Think again. Think of another former Trojans star, a guy with the initials of O and J.

No matter what rules Reggie Bush may have broken, his alleged transgressions came off the field. And Simpson pretty much set the standard for whether or not a player loses the Heisman for off-field conduct.

If O.J. remains in the pantheon of Heisman gods, how would anybody have the nerve to take away Reggie Bush's, Think of the embarrassing debates that would ensue. The college football establishment would be forced to defend Simpson as a member in good standing of the Heisman fraternity. Meanwhile, Reggie Bush supporters could argue that, whatever Reggie might have done wrong, at least he didn't draw blood.

A friend of mine brought the O.J.-Reggie link to my attention. He's a clever guy, a thinking-man's sports fan who isn't losing sleep over the Reggie Bush story. Unless you're a USC official or booster (or a UCLA fan), why would you?

For the rest of us to be truly scandalized by the revelations, we'd have to believe that no other college athletes across the fruited plain receive extra-legal benefits. Who would want to admit to being that gullible?

Not to pick on Maurice Clarett, who's got enough problems right now, but if memory serves, Ohio State wasn't punished when Clarett was discovered a few years ago behind the wheel of an SUV supplied by a dealer with Buckeye connections. The explanation given at the time was that Clarett was on a test drive. At about one year in duration, it was the longest test drive on record.

The point is, to one degree or another, this kind of stuff goes on all the time. Regardless of what's uncovered by the NCAA, Reggie Bush didn't break any laws, only some rules that were put in place to ensure that schools can enrich themselves with cheap labor.

For a long time, people have argued that a chance at a free education is reward enough for athletes. That is a noble thought, but it doesn't take into account the multi-billion dollar business that college football has become. Or how much more TV, radio and the ever-growing Internet sites feed off the reputations and personalities of college athletes.

Reggie Bush made a lot of money for USC in the form of alumni donations and TV revenue. As the biggest name in the sport his final year at USC, he fed the expanding football industry a steady diet of highlights and talking points. Like many athletes before him - and many today - when the rules prevented him from getting his cut, Reggie Bush allegedly sought satisfaction outside the system.

Can you blame him? Maybe you can. But enough to hope that he's stripped of his Heisman?

Reggie Bush's alleged relationships with agents will be investigated by the NCAA and the media. But when it comes to retaining his Heisman credentials, as O.J. has done all these years, Reggie is at a distinct disadvantage.

You see, everybody who was involved with Reggie Bush is still alive to talk about it.

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Sympathy, Support Offered for Terrell Owens in NFL

IRVING, Texas - NFL officials, coaches and players didn't know what to think Wednesday when they heard the first reports about Terrell Owens. They were hoping that a police report of Owens "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" wasn't true.

"It shakes me up," Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said before Owens was released from the hospital. "I'm really shook up by this. I don't know what's true and what isn't, what reality is and isn't. I worry about that. . . . I'm just hopeful that everything will work itself out."

Before Owens denied that he had attempted suicide, saying he was groggy after mixing his painkillers with supplements, some people's thoughts rushed back to 1993. That season, Houston Oilers defensive tackle Jeff Alm killed himself following the death of his best friend, Sean P. Lynch, who died after being thrown from a car Alm was driving crashed on a freeway exit ramp.

Last year, Colts coach Tony Dungy's 18-year-old son, James, took his own life.

Much to the relief of the league, however, Owens said he was merely ill from a combination of hydrocodone, a generic form of Vicodin, and all-natural supplements. After he left the hospital Wednesday, he caught passes from Drew Bledsoe and Tony Romo at Valley Ranch and said he hopes to practice with the team today.

Owens' friend, Cincinnatti Bengals receiver Chad Johnson, was among the first to hear Owens' version of events that began with a 911 call from Owens' home by his publicist, Kim Etheredge, on Tuesday night.

"He is fine," Johnson said. "T and I talk every day. ... So, as soon as I got the news when I came in, I had to make my call to make sure everything was OK. He took the pain medication for his hand, but he took it on an empty stomach. I'm sure if any of you tried to take pain medication on an empty stomach, your stomach is messed up, and there is no way to actually fix it, because you are taking pain medication."

Owens had his issues in Philly, where the Philadelphia Eagles banished him for the final nine games of last season and released him in the off-season. However, even before Owens' news conference, some with the Eagles expressed skepticism that their former All-Pro receiver had tried to kill himself.

"We always thought he was crazy, never mental," an Eagles source said. "... That's not even remotely him. This guy loves himself too much."

Even Hugh Douglas said reports of an Owens' suicide attempt didn't sound like the Owens he knows. Last season, Owens and Douglas fought in the Eagles' locker room. Owens was suspended a few days later and never played for Philly again.

"When I had my deals with T.O., he had a lot of pressure on him," Douglas said. "He was dealing with a lot of different things. When we had our altercation, I apologized for the role I played in the whole matter. I basically told him, `If you want to reach out and just talk, I'm here.' There's a lot of pressure to be who he is."