Oltmanns: Reggie Bush’s punishments don’t fit violations

Judging by the punishments being levied on former USC running back Reggie Bush, you would think… Judging by the punishments being levied on former USC running back Reggie Bush, you would think he was convicted of murder.

His jersey was taken down at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the school’s copy of the Heisman Trophy was removed and Bush’s name was stripped from all school facilities and publications, as instructed by the NCAA.

What’s next? Are people on the USC campus going to be banned from speaking his name?

No, he was not convicted of a crime. Instead, he was found to have received improper benefits from the school with gifts ranging from a house to flights to hotel accommodations.

This is obviously a major NCAA violation. But is it just me, or is everyone acting like Bush was the first college athlete to accept benefits he shouldn’t have?

Bush — who is currently with the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints — wasn’t the first athlete to do it, and he definitely won’t be the last.

Allegedly, schools all across the country are doing it. Reports say that the NCAA is investigating North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida. USC is the only one that  got caught red-handed and they, along with Bush, are paying for it with a two-year bowl ban.

But now, with reports that the Heisman Trophy Trust might strip Bush of the trophy he won in 2005, this is just getting ridiculous.

I’m not saying that Bush shouldn’t be punished, because he should be. But removing any trace of him on the entirety of campus isn’t right.

How can the NCAA try to pretend like Bush’s greatness at the school from 2003-05 wasn’t one of the best things to happen to the sport in the last decade?

From his highlight reel runs, Pac-10 Championships and Heisman Trophy, no matter how much the NCAA tries to erase our memory of him, it’s just not possible.

Let’s take a look at another Heisman Trophy winner who just so happened to be a USC running back himself: O.J. Simpson.

Simpson was acquitted of murder in what was arguably the most controversial trial in the past 30 years. But let’s be honest: the public hasn’t forgotten the proceedings.

You would think his Heisman Trophy would’ve been removed from USC’s trophy case as well.

It wasn’t.

To add insult to injury, the NCAA is reportedly considering giving Bush’s Heisman to Vince Young, who finished second in the voting that season.

Now I don’t want to make any assumptions, but isn’t it ironic that Young, who posted one of the all-time lowest scores on the NFL’s Wonderlic Test that measures problem-solving abilities, would get the award? With that kind of score, it makes one wonder how Young managed to graduate.

If anything, the NCAA should take it easy on Bush. Don’t they know that he just went through a highly publicized breakup with Kim Kardashian?

But in all seriousness, the NCAA is making a mistake in the extent of their penalties.

Maybe they should spend more time looking into reports that West Virginia allegedly violated NCAA rules during the Rich Rodriguez era, instead of focusing on issues from five years ago.