Johnny Manziel will no longer associate himself with the Heisman Trophy. At least, for now.
He is staging a hard boycott of the ceremony in December and any award-related events.
The decision, which was announced on Saturday morning, stems from Reggie Bush’s vacated win. Manziel’s cold-shoulder will continue until the legendary USC running back’s Heisman Trophy is returned to its rightful owner.
After careful thought and consideration I will be humbly removing myself from the Heisman trophy ceremony until Reggie Bush 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, NCAA, the ball is in your court.
Much love
JM2
— @JManziel2 on X
This is not the first time that Manziel has spoken out on behalf of the 2005 award recipient. He spoke out in favor of Bush shortly after his Untold documentary revealed all of the crazy behind-the-scenes shenanigans that took place while he was at Texas A&M. The former Aggies quarterback was in violation of countless NCAA rules throughout his entire career in College Station.
Despite significant probable cause for an investigation, neither Manziel nor his program received so much as a slap on the wrist for what was going on behind-the-scenes. That cannot be said for the Trojans or their superstar running back.
Bush was found guilty by the NCAA of forfeiting his “amateur status” by accepting illegal gifts from agents. To summarize a very complicated series of events in one sentence: an ex-convict who had delusions of becoming a sports agent provided him with a used car and provided his parents with a home.
As a result of the guilty ruling, USC received heavy sanctions. Bush supposedly “voluntarily forfeited” his Heisman Trophy, which he later claimed was entirely untrue.
Neither the Trojans nor their former ball-carrier are in possession of the award. It now sits vacant.
Reggie Bush technically never won the Heisman even though Reggie Bush won the Heisman.
Both he and USC want it to be returned. Bush even sued the NCAA over the summer to have his award restored.
His lawsuit came less than two weeks after Johnny Manziel came to his defense after the Netflix documentary revealed that he too broke the rules.
There is nothing I want to see more than for Reggie [Bush] to get his Heisman back. I think what the NCAA did in that situation is complete bulls—.
He is one of the best college football players in history and deserves to be on that stage with us every year. The only difference between my story and Reggie’s is that my ‘illegal activities’ did not start until after my Heisman season.
— JManziel2 on X
Now, six months later, Manziel has removed himself from the ceremony in protest.