Reggie Bush On His Heisman Trophy Being Reinstated, His Battle With Depression

One former NFL star is giving back to the community by disclosing his trauma.

Former NFL Pro Bowler Reggie Bush last week finally got his Heisman Trophy back after forfeiting the honor 14 years ago because of allegations that he accepted payment and other goods while competing for the University of Southern California.

This impacted his mental health. So, on CBS Mornings, he shared that when he was drafted by the vaunted New Orleans Saints in 2006, he was going through it.

“When I think I’m at my weakest point and when I’m dealing with depression, fighting thoughts of suicide, there’s an entire city there to embrace me and to lift me up, and to give me an opportunity to go out, once again, to prove myself,” he said.

Following an investigation by the NCAA that found he had received the goods, Bush voluntarily gave up his Heiman Trophy back in 2010; however, after the NCAA’s changed its policy pertaining to players receiving payment, the organization then reinstated Bush’s trophy. He said he was just trying to take it all in.

“I think when you’ve manifested this for so long, and you’ve been through the ups and the downs for so many years — I’ve cried over it, I have — but I felt like at this point, I was just taking it in and just being happy and just enjoying the moment, and just knowing that we did this,” he said.

Still, while his trophy has been reinstated, Bush stated he was not backing off a lawsuit he has pending against the NCAA for defamation from a statement made back in 2021 by NCAA officials that mentioned Bush as a “pay-to-play” scenario.

Right now, it is National Mental Health Month. And Bush’s candid look at his mental health journey helps highlight that Black men suffering from depression are underdiagnosed and regularly underutilize supportive resources. Right now, roughly 5% to 10% of Black men suffer from depression, although these figures do not account for those underdiagnosed.

This study dates back 10 years. Since that time, Black Americans have been disproportionately affected by police brutality “and increase in white nationalism that prompted the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement,” Donald Trump as president, the COVID-19 outbreak, a recession, among other developments.

Photo Credit: Instagram - @ReggieBush