In 2005, all star running back Reggie Bush out of the University of Southern California won one of the most valuable awards possible for a collegiate athlete to win, the Heisman Trophy. Winning the Heisman trophy as a college football player is like finding gold after years of searching. What’s even more crazy is Reggie Bush was a running back and since the year 2000, fifteen quarterbacks have been given that award, and only three running backs (including Bush) won this award. Reggie Bush was a great and likable person amongst his peers, and a phenomenal athlete. Reggie Bush broke many records during his time attending the University of Southern California, including the Walter Camp and Doak Walker awards in 2005, the Heisman trophy in 2005 …show more content…
With all of these rewards, with the legacy he built during his time in college, it was all stripped away and forgotten because of one mistake Reggie made during college, accepting money from a fan for his spectacular performance at his school. In 2010, Bush would be investigated by the NCAA for breaking the rules of accepting things from fans, he would later become the first person in history to ever forfeit the Heisman trophy. Such a big award and he was forced to forfeit something he earned. Should a student athlete really be punished so harshly, if at all for such acts? There has been many incidents of college players accepting “gifts” from fans and later being punished for it. But the reality is these student athletes struggle daily with things like money, food, clothing, etc. Between being a full time student, and being involved in sports which more often than not with these situations, these students got scholarships for their ability to play sports. According to the article Should college football players get paid, In 2014, Business Insider reported …show more content…
If they are getting ready to go to the next level with their talents, why not pay them for their talents while their in college and get them ready for the quite large amount of money that will be paid to them once on a National Football League roster? According to the article Football: College (1990’s) Some great players passed through the ranks of college football during the decade, despite many early defections to the professional ranks as National Football League (NFL) teams offered huge signing bonuses to the most skilled players. The most skilled players in college make it to the next level in the pro’s, and the most skilled players of that group get drafted in the top rounds of the draft coming out of college. Thus, these young people who are often inexperienced with money, and irresponsible with it, are about to be handed millions at around the ages of 20-24 most of the time. According to the article Football: College (1990’s), The 1990’s was an exciting decade for college football despite off-field distractions and a complex system that left much to be desired in determining which team was actually the best in the land. If college football is popular, it’s because of the students who come and go through different schools football programs and help build their schools