When the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner is announced, don’t expect to see Johnny Manziel there.
At every Heisman ceremony, all past winners join the stage to welcome the next star to its elite fraternity. But the former Texas A&M sensation announced on social media Saturday he will not be joining the annual ceremony in New York because of Reggie Bush.
‘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. Do the RIGHT thing,’ Manziel wrote. ‘@NCAA the ball is in your court.’
Manziel’s decision is a result of the former Southern California running back who forfeited the 2005 trophy he won after the NCAA found that he violated rules by him and his family receiving gifts while playing for the Trojans. As a result, Bush gave back the award to the Heisman Trust in 2010, and he hasn’t attended a trophy ceremony since the trophy was given back.
While Manziel has talked about his frustrations with the NCAA in recent years, it likely would have to come from the Heisman Trust to give Bush his trophy and recognition back.
Johnny Manziel’s defense of Reggie Bush
This isn’t the first time Manziel has publicly supported Bush.
Manziel admitted he made money in the Netflix documentary, ‘Johnny Football,’ but after he won the Heisman. Last year, he said on social media, ‘the only difference between my story and Reggie’s is that my ‘illegal activities’ did not start until after my Heisman season.’ He added what the NCAA did in the Bush situation was ‘absolute bull(expletive)’
‘He is one of the best college football players in history and deserves to be on that stage with us every year,’ Manziel said in 2023.
Bush himself has also pushed to get his trophy back. Last year, he planned to file a defamation lawsuit against the NCAA about the reasoning for its decision not to restore the Heisman Trophy winner’s records.