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Reggie Bush played tailback for the University of Southern California years ago. He also broke NCAA rules by accepting gifts years ago. Now, it is the current Trojans paying the ultimate price for the infraction.

Early reports are stating that the USC Trojans are being banned for 2 years from postseason play. On top of that, it is also reported that they will lose more than 20 scholarships as part of the punishment. Furthermore, wins from previous seasons will also be vacated. The question is, is it ALL appropriate?

The main piece to the investigation puzzle was Reggie Bush. The forfeiting of wins during his time with the team seems reasonable. The forfeiting of Reggie Bush’s Heisman trophy is also reasonable. However, 5 years after the incident happened, you are punishing kids who have done everything right in their football careers. Kids that chose a school with a rich tradition with a year of questionable activity. And now, some of them won’t have the chance to compete for a National Championship, not even a bowl game. What kind of message is the NCAA sending to the future of college football?

Let me pose a question. If a school breaks the rules this year, should the team of 2015 be punished as a result? It’s basically equivalent to telling a high school student-athlete, “You can choose the school you want to go to. However, if they committed an infraction many years ago, there is a chance you will be punished.” This is a horrible decision to make by the NCAA. Incoming freshmen at USC haven’t even stepped on the field in a real game and already they are competing for nothing this year. Is that fair? Did they do anything wrong?

The school has 15 days to appeal the sanctions placed upon them. I, for one, hope they do so. At least two of the sanctions should be removed. Any punishment dealt to the current Trojans team should be dismissed and the decision should be easy. If you punish kids that have done nothing wrong, you’re setting the wrong example for the future. If a school committed the infraction, it would be a different story. However, this was one player. One player that isn’t on the current team and was gone 5 years ago.

Now we must ask the NCAA one question. Why punish those who do nothing wrong?

http://forums.sportsjabber.net/sjforums/showthread.php?t=55166