The NCAA's beef with Reggie Bush erased a college football legend... sort of. We'll explain.

Reggie Bush did some truly amazing things while playing college football at Southern Cal - and most of them happened on the field! Ha. Anyway, this is a very real story about the disparity between labor and ownership - sorry, "educators" - in modern college football. If you don't know anything about Reggie Bush, the NCAA, or what happened in the 2000s, just understand that this dude took a semi-free place to live and paid a steeper price to the college football gods than O.J. Simpson.
Written and produced by Steven Godfrey
Directed by Jiazhen Zhang
Illustrations, animations and additional editing by Tyson Whiting
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[@turnermedlicott6569]

Coming back to this to celebrate Bush getting his Heisman back. We did it Joe

[@mcain2911]

If you don’t like or agree with the NIL, blame the NCAA for it. They’ll make tens of millions off of a guy, but let someone find out a restaurant owner said you don’t have to pay for your steak and they’ll nail the entire program to the wall.

[@MazeDaGr8]

Exactly I will never understand that double standard logic "We can make money off you but you can't make money off you"

[@Halinn]

@@MazeDaGr8 The logic is the standard "rules for thee but not for me".

[@JJJJ-jw8hc]

"FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME" /s@@MazeDaGr8

[@darthsilversith667]

@@MazeDaGr8They were making something off it though.. they got a high quality education for free and admitted to a college that probably 90% or more of them wouldn’t have gotten into if it wasn’t for them being good at football. They had access to top quality Dr’s and overall medical care, tutors and got all kinds of free gear. Using this argument, high school players should get a cut of ticket sales.

[@jamesmarshall6619]

@@darthsilversith667 this argument would have merit if the same principles applied to all college students on scholarship but it doesn't, it only applies to athletic scholarships. Every person on an academic scholarship can make as much money as they want, receive whatever benefits from whomever while in college but scholarship athletes are restricted. The fact that athletes got additional benefits doesn't mean anything because scholarships is money already spent with numerous restrictions, in which players were limited in how they could make money that they could spend on themselves and families, who might also need support. High school is not even remotely the same because there are few restrictions on high school kids making money while in high school and playing a sport, their ability to work is restricted by federal and state laws but there is no limit to the amount they can make, who they can work for, or when they can work based upon athletic association bylaws, plus if they are under 18 they are not adults, college students are. The rules that apply to athletes in high school apply for just about every single student in high school in terms of earning money.

[@BigBoyJay_69]

Insane how good the audio is considering it was recorded on a potato

[@Lyndiloo]

I just spent half the video trying to figure out how I broke my speakers, should have read the comments.

[@26joshn]

Honestly, I had to exit the video about a minute in; I couldn't handle it. I wonder if they rushed this one out after Reggie filed his lawsuit.

[@my_aiim_is_nastyxgaming7046]

Thought it was my headphones 😂😂😂

[@jordanleighton6893]

Same

[@trendel13]

I don't hear any difference but I'm listening to it via my Teddy Ruxpin....

[@BirdGang6]

Just give Reggie his damn Heisman back, the benefits he got weren’t performance enhancers, he still had to go out there and be the best player in college week in and week out and that’s exactly what he did.

[@kylenorman5250]

I think Vince Young was the best player in college football that year but Bush was by no means undeserving and he should've never been stripped of the award.

[@darthsilversith667]

@@kylenorman5250all of USC’s success in the 2000’s was because they were buying the best talent.. that’s not a fair playing field and why he was stripped of his award.

[@DevinEMILE]

@@darthsilversith667 Your delusional if you think they were the only team doing it. And now its legal to pay players.

[@darthsilversith667]

@@DevinEMILE I know they weren’t the only team doing it.. just about everyone in the SEC and B12 was doing it too. USC was just the biggest ones doing it. I think NIL is going to be the worst thing ever that happened to college football.. if people thought the last decade was horrible with how repetitive it was with the same few teams.. it’s going to get a lot worse now.

[@barryallen871]

They should've gave it to VY anyway.

[@jackmanley1473]

I HATED USC back in the day, but what the NCAA attempted to do to Reggie Bush, the best RB to ever play college football, was just pathetically laughable. Still the Heisman winner.

[@patrickkane1387]

Best college rb of all time and this is coming from a penn st fan who got to witness saquon live. I was young watching that natty w usc and Texas, Vince was my fav qb for a long time

[@PayDay4Youtube]

He is still the Heisman winner and USC is still the ‘05 champs and everyone knows it. NCAA bunch of 🤡

[@XavierOrtizJr]

As Fresno State fan, I too, hate USC. But in no way shape or form, did Reggie Bush or USC deserve the punishment that they received. Give Reggie his Heisman back...

[@scottackerman4823]

@@patrickkane1387you didn’t watch Barry Sanders or Earl Campbell, Ricky Williams etc. Bush is extremely overrated. Didn’t even deserve his Heisman

[@BrianK-zz4fk]

while he was must watch exciting player, he was no Barry.

[@Job.Well.Done_01]

I still see Reggie as a clear Heisman Trophy recipient even if that title was “stripped” from him by the NCAA. His performance on the football field at USC is legendary and speaks for itself. Edit: Vince Young is a real one for not accepting the trophy after it was ‘stripped’ from Bush. Legend. Vince Young was one HECK of a college football player.

[@AnthonyMcNeil]

Agreed about Reggie Bush at USC. Absolutely amazing to watch.

[@Nick_Simpson007]

No doubt any other year during the 2000’s Young probably wins it but that was 100% Bush’s Heisman. People gotta stop underrating his value and his legacy he’s at worst a top 5 CFB RB of all time.

[@gmwdim]

In hindsight Vince Young probably should have accepted it so he could give it to Bush.

[@bcm8984]

At the time I thought Vince Young deserved it but Reggie bush was amazing that year.

[@Job.Well.Done_01]

@@bcm8984 I think it was a marvelous season of transcendental football and the players were electrifying. Reggie was on another level with his shifty speed and production. Vince young delivered a signature moment with that Rose Bowl win that year. Incredible !

[@bradleythornock8627]

Did the NCAA throw the host down a well when he was recording this video?

[@DFCwastaken]

Homie using the old logitech PS2 mic

[@calendar1078]

The production value for these have been waning a bit. I don’t want to seem like sour grapes because I still enjoy these immensely, but the quality of things such as the mics are def noticeable.

[@goldenknife3835]

@@calendar1078not surprising, the company that owns SB, Vox, has been struggling and cutting costs and laying off employees, as well as fighting the unions at the company.

[@mg19cal]

Y'all ever heard of that term "listen to the message, not the tone?" Seems pretty applicable here

[@scrub_jay]

Reggie isn't the only one who suffered. The punishments, especially the recruiting limitations, set USC back for damn near 10 years. It could be argued that the ripples of this case are felt in the ongoing death of the Pac-12.

[@denistuohy2535]

You're right, they totally screwed the Pac-12 and forced the SEC to beasically become the NFL minor league, making a lot of the conferences irrelelvent.

[@AJ-nf3bn]

@@denistuohy2535the pac-10/12 made it to the playoff also the pac-12 was always collapsing on them self every season in the (playoffs era)

[@masonpiatt-villasenor686]

Eloquently put

[@MosheGoldbergTheKing]

Absolutely true

[@WORLDWIDESOCAL9]

now add what happened to FSU @@denistuohy2535

[@samortmann5003]

This gets even crazier when you watch the Johnny football documentary and nobody looked into the oil money cover story

[@MazeDaGr8]

The NCAA has always been very Selective when it comes to reprimanded

[@isaacreynolds8339]

Idk in terms of the different punishments and different levels of scrutiny between Bush and Manziel, I think they got it white

[@URLIamnot]

The irony is how much money he made for USC, the NCAA, and EVERYONE else who was on the take. I was at the Hawaii game when Hawaii hosted USC in 2005. It was a spectacle! I say this as someone from Louisiana and a die-hard bayou Bengals fan. Give him his trophy!

[@Loui322]

In the Johnny Manziel documentary he literally made tons of money off of autographs but he was never stripped of his heisman

[@MrDrakerider]

The timing on this video is insane

[@ronaldoreyes10]

They probably just heard he was suing and immediately got to making this video

[@golfaholic666]

@@ronaldoreyes10There’s no mention of it in the video. Legit just amazing timing

[@paulloy8728]

​@@golfaholic666I beg to differ, the voice-over sounds off

[@luisnavarro5298]

@@paulloy8728yeah the mic sounds like trash, like it was quickly recorded

[@mercinary001]

Agreed audio quality sounds awful, like it was a rush job.

[@nedisahonkey]

It's crazy to me how many people STILL argue against college athletes getting paid. Its especially egregious when it's people who played high school or college football because 95% of the time its coming from a place of pure jealousy. I don't know if it's more hilarious od deeply sad to be honest.

[@jamesmarshall6619]

Worse, people who believe that just ignore or don't care players aren't making money off of the university itself, they're making it off of their own image, but universities are still making money off of them. They compartmentalize that it's okay for every other person on scholarship be allowed to make money however they want but get mad that athletes can now do the same just because they get extra benefits the university itself offers, not extras that athletes negotiated or demanded.

[@matthewhallberg8256]

I guess they just want their money too

[@georgeprchal3924]

Especially since it's only limited to athletes. No-one cares about a grad student making change but God forbid a running back does it.

[@BrianK-zz4fk]

the top stars should absolutly be paid above the scholorship but a majority are getting fair payment through the scholorship. It feels like whover has the biggest boosters will just dominate. Maybe have some sort of cap like the NFL.

[@hunterwade9030]

LSU just proved you wrong

[@Flow_Easy]

I hope that Reggie and other past college athletes come together and put a lot of heat on the NCAA. They need to have past cases and judgements reviewed, becuase if they screwed up in Reggie's case, I wouldn't doubt it if it happened in others.

[@Ivantheterrible81280]

Let’s also not forget nothing was done to Pete Carroll. Skipped out of town and went to the NFL.

[@lastsinnersa8002]

Steven Godfrey is just gold in these vids. Loved his work all the way back from the 4 part series about the Ole Miss recruiting saga & NCAA hypocricy.

[@TheWatcher51393]

I was just thinking that exact thing - I loved that series, and Godfrey just EVISCERATES the NCAA here... glorious.

[@Taylor-gb5gf]

one of the better sports documentaries on KZbin, 30for30 level quality

[@w8ting4fri]

God damn the NCAA is evil

[@Pseedholm]

Why is the production value of this video so atrocious? No cold open, no opening title, graphics straight outta a 1998 mac book running photoshop 1. Oh wait. It’s probably bc it was rushed out when news broke that Reggie bush is suing the NCAA.

[@echo_lley]

Note to the team: I will still watch the video even if it comes out weeks after a related major news release if I can expect high quality content.

[@evanm2755]

Months, even

[@Azarenify]

What’s up with the audio quality

[@staidenofanarchy]

Sounds like either a mic error or the best they could do while trying to shove this thing out the door.

[@Obregon-]

Perhaps it's meta, they're pretending to be amateurs?

[@charlesariyibi8601]

Secret Base, I love you guys and your videos, the beef history series in particular. I watch and rewatch these almost daily, even just to throw them on in the background. The drop in quality in these recent videos is astounding, who is letting these be posted? The audio quality is poor, and the musical background which is supposed to complement the narration has been turned down because of the poor audio so it makes us feel like we are sitting in an echoey room being lectured, instead of a fun narration of sports beef. Still love you guys, but some of the latest videos have been unwatchable.

[@weirdshitcoolideas]

They seem half assed too.

[@shoetits]

fr, he sounds like he recorded inside of a wooden tube.

[@jrsachem9]

Said it better than I could

[@AliceYobby]

This is a KZbin compression issue. It has nothing to do with their end. They could take it down and reupload it but that will cost them any growth and viewership. It’s a lose-lose that’s KZbin’s fault

[@weirdshitcoolideas]

@@AliceYobby doesn’t take away the fact their stuff has been subpar lately

[@primetime__179]

As a Texas Fan, Reggie Bush deserves his Heisman and what NCAA is doing is not justified in any way. Give him his Heisman back!

[@hulk6785]

He may have been stripped of the trophy and his stats, but we all know that Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy and did all the things he did on the field. You can erase it on paper, but the footage still exists.

[@Los150]

Who’s here after it was announced Reggie is rightfully getting his Heisman back?

[@Idiot_Savant02]

Wow really glad we got that audio cleared up for the outro

[@gmwdim]

I was a student at UCLA during Bush's collegiate career and I hated when we faced him because we couldn't stop him.

[@FunkoPopnLockn]

Man the quality of Beef History has gotten so inconsistent recently.

[@jamaalsjourney]

Or maybe your vegan and won't admit it. How has it fallen off?

[@WillAyeAmNot]

​@@jamaalsjourneyBruh, you have ears?

[@FunkoPopnLockn]

@@jamaalsjourney compare the 3 most recent Beef Histories then compare any 3 random ones from before 2023 and tell me which ones are better. Does that help? I think if this video had more beef then maybe it would have been better.

[@pfelon]

I cannot express how electrifying it was to watch Bush play in the Coliseum that year. Give him back that Heisman!

[@raviolihands5347]

Imagine being a collegiate player who garners your school MILLIONS of dollars and you go to Walmart and see your likeness on a video game but you cant afford a loaf of bread

[@seeyal6361]

Bush made USC and the NCAA millions. U gotta get urs why u can especially in a sport as brutal as football. Bush is the best college player I’ve ever seen. Sad that 18 years later the rules are totally different and he could have made millions off his college stardom. Timing is everything…

[@DJValentino864]

They said high profile stars get higher punishment...But in the same breathe won't revisit cases...? But doesn't this case of a high profile player needs revisiting..Not every case...but the high profile cases...! Being players can receive exactly what he received then... Hmmmmmm?

[@Blackphillipsupporter]

Imagine bringing a school millions of dollars in revenue and national league TV exposure and then being told you can't have a piece of the pie.

[@187btokes]

Look what you're saying is definitely true, HOWEVER, that does not excuse rule breaking. There are many laws that are terrible, but try bringing that up to a judge after you get charged for break them. Irrelevant.

[@187btokes]

@@user-hs7qf5vv2n terrible equivalency since Rosa parks was a proven setup by the then black leaders because the real woman who had that incident genuinely happen to her wasixed and had a child out of wedlock, which the church frowned upon

[@erys6280]

why is the audio quality horrrible

[@Mr.StevenKerr]

I will never understand why people defend big corporations and don't side with the worker or union. No matter what you're being paid, the Corp you work for is making more and laying you less than you're worth. Any "journalist" who supported the NCAA should lose their credentials and respect.

[@barryswigart1432]

Was this recorded on mobile?

[@thatguyoverthere957]

I always thought it was the east coast bias - Just look at what the NCAA did to Washington in the early 90s. Don James retired in protest. Now THAT deserves a good rewind

[@kevinfinnerty8414]

East coast/Southern bias. Auburn literally just straight up Paid$$ Cam Newton to come play their……..Crickets. Nothing from the NCAA on that violation.

[@VadeSatana]

Great content and recap of the events. But two items that seem out side Secret Base quality is the audio and the presenters tone. Seemed more like someone talking over a youtube short then a docu-video style the other presenters provide.

[@kingflumph5968]

I appreciate the work y'all do and the stories y'all tell! I dont mind the audio quality so much, it doesn't ruin the content for me, but I hope that your recording equipment is okay! Lord knows I've had to make due in my classroom with bad equipment plentt of times due to time constraints. Definitely been there.

[@6thwilbury2331]

Yeah, came down here to see who else commented on the audio quality. It might not even be the equipment, either. It sounds like the audio is compressed, perhaps in post.

[@TheRealRMG]

Reggie Bush won the Heisman. I don't care what the NCAA says, I don't care where the physical trophy is, and I don't care what history they do or don't want to acknowledge. Reggie Bush won that award, I know it, they know it, everyone knows it; and there is nothing they can do about it.

[@Tommy_Montana]

I ain't gon hold you, they would've had to take that Heisman Trophy in back in blood

[@ashsherod6321]

audio sounds like a webcam mic

[@DRACOFURY]

*Audio Needs To Be Recorded And Mixed Again Way Too Loud* 🎚🎛

[@rogerszmodis]

Not too loud, it just sounds like it was recorded in a closest. I can’t tell who the narrator is.

[@samortmann5003]

Beef History: Secret Base vs. Seth narrating these videos.

[@princealigorna7468]

Give Reggie back his Heisman

[@Novedrake]

In 2023 the NCAA also revoked Secret Base’s microphone quality

[@ethanmx2]

Not just a blank on the Heisman, but a blank on a season of one of the best teams in college football history! #WeWantOurWinsBack #FightOn

[@keithm9589]

There should be a biopic on the Reggie Bush USC Era

[@jacobstallsmith4557]

Also i love that Paul T. Dee had such strong feeling about Reggie Bush and USC when he was the AD of Miami duirng there wonderful scandal years for 2002 to 2008 when he retired.

[@dewdropslive]

love the vids guys but the audio quality here is kind of inexcusable

[@CalebAlucardtheHagan]

This is why--under NO circumstances--you never rush a product.

[@daltonjohnson38]

Update 2024: The NCAA has officially given Reggie Bush his Heisman back.

[@CoachDread3523]

Can someone explain to me how Johnny Manziel still has his Heisman Trophy but somehow Reggie Bush doesn’t ???

[@selfishstockton6123]

Good ol boys

[@bigcock8900]

God y’all need to hire some actually funny and talented people if I only see Seth or Will once every 2 months

[@thewalrus3541]

Got to love how cartoonishly evil the NCAA is.

[@greencm7142]

This is absolutely perfect timing. Specifically after watching Johnny Football's episode of Untold. If he's allowed to keep his Heisman, then Bush most definitely should be given a Heisman back.

[@bigjared8946]

They claim to be all about the Holy Sanctity of academics but if academics were actually sacred, college sports wouldn't even exist. Hell, neither would high school sports. WTF does playing sportsball or running track etc have to do with academics? The entanglement of these things is rather curious when you step back and look it at objectively.

[@RoboticDragon]

So isnt Reggie suing the NCAA now for slander and other things?

[@Matt-cr4vv]

Yes he filed a lawsuit against the NCAA for defamation stemming from their response in 2021 to being asked if NIL now being ok if Reggie would get the heisman back. And they responded by saying that white NIL is allowed pay for play is not so he still broke rules. And so he filed a suit claiming that they defamed him by accusing him of pay to play.

[@pullt]

It would have been pretty sweet if Young accepted the trophy, then gave it to Bush.

[@FoxMacLeod2501]

1:49 ". . . _burgeoning_ dynasty," not "burnishing" - unless you mean to say that Pete was polishing his dynasty?

[@marquink]

My dad told me, rules are for people you don't like to keep them in their place.

[@jasecarr8572]

Holy audio quality Batman

[@stonecoldku4161]

I wonder if Bill Self is still considering a defamation lawsuit against the NCAA. His lawyer did send a letter to the NCAA to prepare because he was considering it stemming from their *accusations* of the Level 1 violations.

[@joaodias9547]

Ladies and Gentlemen, as of today, April 24th 2024, Mr.Reggie Bush got BACK his 2005 Heisman Trophy

[@rebelranger]

Here in 2024 after Reggie got his damn Heisman back.

[@cariboubearmalachy1174]

Still waiting for the video on Didier Deschamps and Karim Benzema's decade-long feud. It would cover two World Cup finals, Deschamp's home vandalized, and a bizarre blackmail attempt using a sex tape.

[@carcosa_swamp]

Beef History idea of rushed content vs audio quality

[@kicka11]

Paul Dee has never said no to a hamburger.

[@terryaltherr2481]

Not the NCAA fault but it's wild that Lou Anna Simon was on the NCAA Executive Committee (she was elected to the committee for a two year term to "build trust and confidence back in the system" after the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal) and then was found to have been complicit in the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal

[@ElyasBinYahya]

No, the Heisman winner for 2005 is not “blank”. It was, is, and will always be Reggie Bush.

[@edisonboggess7141]

This was a Barbecue with the NCAA on the grill and I loved it!

[@commanderjoj6426]

Brian Bosworth’s T shirt summed up the NCAA accurately: National Communists Against Athletes.

[@maxsmith8475]

This episode was apparently recorded underwater in a submarine

[@colincraigo5793]

Hopefully not the Titan submarine

[@thatnerdjock]

Been waiting for this one! Reggie Bush will always be my favorite football player of all time even if his NFL career didn’t hold up to his college stats! I’ll never forget watching him tear up my beloved hometown Fresno State and making them look like pop Warner players lol 😂

[@nateg4582]

Who's here after Bush got his heisman back.

[@Abraham16ish]

Great video Stephen. I am definitely a huge critic of the hypocrisy of the NCAA, with it’s old rules of letting the coaches and ad’d making millions of dollars while the athletes can not even afford to go the school or food. I hope Reggie wins his suit against the NCAA.

[@Watchdog99]

I don’t know what’s up with this audio but i makes me feel like I need to pop my ears

[@BDOT310]

Well today is the day he got it back 💯

[@isi1044]

this channel has a knack for making interesting things sound boring

[@awenner]

Why is the audio of the narration so bad? This is not acceptable for a channel of this size

[@Mattyboy2085]

Still says 2X National Champion and 2005 Heisman winner on his wikipedia page. That's taken infinitely more serious than any NCAA record book.

[@nlyoswag7151]

Can u guys make videos for more recent games like Tennessee bama or texas ou 2021?

[@brw3rd]

I didn't even know that the NCAA had anything to do with the Heisman. Always thought it was award by a consensus of Downtown Athletic Club voters. Regardless, Reggie Bush will always be remembered as the recipient of the Heisman Trophy in 2005. The NCAA can not erase our memories.

[@xanderburnette7963]

Amazing video. Y’all are amazing

[@georgeprchal3924]

Cartman: "Stoodent Atholetes?" Oh ho that's brilliant sir!

[@DJFloorPancake]

With family on both sides from the Midwest and Irish Catholic heritage, it was all but legally required for me to despise USC and support Notre Dame growing up. Reggie Bush was still my favorite football player. Give that man his records back!

[@erdngtn9942]

The audio quality comments will continue until moral has improved. That is all.

[@chrisfatta9479]

Man I wasn’t expecting to get angry watching this but man

[@joshuabeeker]

This video is PHENOMENAL The NCAA is like the government, starts with good intentions, then money, power, and greed screws it up. People don’t want to let go of power and everyone else foots the bill. Solid work!!!!

[@Redpandaspy]

The AD of Miami talking about punishment is rich.

[@jaquan123ism]

today a wrong was righted

[@chimericalical]

Anytime I hear “NCAA” I think of the south park episode where Cartman dressed as a slave master and talked to various NCAA schools

[@SKSKMattyD]

Great content SB nation , but whats up with the audio on this video? sounds like its being recorded inside of a tin can? really hard to listen to.

[@OhDihzey]

HE FINALLY GOT IT BACK

[@CorneliusEdwardoWinstonThe2nd]

NCAA said Reggie bush will die without HIS heisman…that’s just wild in so many ways

[@shoetits]

Gotta get that mic sorted , sounds like you recorded the audio in a wooden tube.

[@gamerboy6787]

I'm sorry, but what the heck is going on with the audio quality here?

[@ImGarbino]

Why does this sound like it was recorded with a laptop mic

[@jpmnky]

You couldn’t help but like Reggie Bush, heck that USC run in particular. I was always a sucker for PAC 10 quarterbacks going into the NFL. The play style of that conference in the 90s and 00s was peak college football offense. Sure a lot of it didn’t carry over to the NFL but it wasn’t the NFL in the first place, right? College football all together started their nosedive in 2011, 12 and just continued going downhill for the next decade. And now look what a mess they’re in. The NCAA and football in particular. I’m sure fans from different generations will vary on what year things started going downhill. As a 1990s teenager I can only go by what was going on then and into the 2000s and 2010s. We are never going to get back to the mid to late 1990s in a lot of things. Especially sports. Ask my parents generation. It’s the 1970s and 80s. Their parents, the 1950s and 60s. And so on. The folks in their 20s today will point to free 10s as the peak. And so on. We can all agree the system is broken. And everyone would welcome restructuring the MCAA. How and where, when will be where the divisions begin. But that’s how it is with everything.

[@jonathanhogg5665]

"Burnishing dynasty" should be "burgeoning dynasty"

[@lacanm1554]

Well reggie won in the end. Super happy hes getting his heisman back