Past USC and NFL running back Reggie Bush has had a great two-month stretch.
Since recent college players can earn income through NIL while still adhering to NCAA regulations, the Heisman Trust announced in April that it would award Bush the 2005 Heisman Trophy.
Then, a judge in Indiana has denied the NCAA’s movement to dismiss Bush’s libel and fake light complaint against the relationship. The vacated position of Bush’s information at USC and his subsequent abandonment of the Heisman Trophy, on which his status as a school football analyst essentially depends, can be said to have a real impact on his recent profession.

In August of last year, Bush brought a lawsuit against the NCAA over a statement Meghan Durham Wright, a spokesman for the NCAA, made to reporters in 2021 when the NCAA changed its guidelines to help NIL. Although Wright did n’t brand Bush, Wright was answering a question about Bush when she said, “NCAA rules still do not allow spend- for- play form arrangements”.
The fact that she did n’t name Bush, Welch stressed, does n’t defeat a defamation claim since Wright’s answer “was interpreted as such by media outlets and by individual readers” as referring to Bush.
Bush claims that he was never paid to play for USC. In 2010, the NCAA accused him of stealing funds from a potential NFL player, with the idea that Bush may pay for it while he was a student.
Welch went on to say that Bush disagrees with the NCAA’s assertions and that Bush is not at issue with the NCAA’s claims that Bush “engaged in a pay-for-play relationship or received unlawful inducement benefits to go USC.” In fact, the prosecutor reasoned that” Bush’s reported do” may be “permissible under NCAA’s present Minimal rules”.
In a California state court, Welch discovered Todd McNair’s significant former USC associate coach’s complaint against the NCAA for defamation. McNair insisted that the NCAA’s record made it clear that McNair knew Bush was breaking NCAA regulations. Welch argued that the NCAA’s report was “false in some important way,” including how witness testimony was presented. Quoting the trial judge, Welch said the report produced a “fictional profile” with “ludicrous” quoting of what testimony truly said.
Welch concluded Bush effectively pleaded a libel case, including because he” especially asserts” that the NCAA’s speech in 2021″ caused damage to his personal and professional reputation”. She noted that Bush makes reference to the loss of “long-term television contracts and support deals” and provides practical examples of alleged damage.
Whether Bush finally prevails over the NCAA is still up for debate. The NCAA argues that Bush’s complaint is based on allegations rather than written record, and that a generic and accurate statement about NIL rules ca n’t amount to defamation. Preliminary discovery is also a double-edged sword, particularly in a slander case. In an effort to make his explanations sound, the NCAA might request that Bush give sworn testimony about his actions at USC and after work with brokers. The parties had approach an outside- of- court arrangement at any point, including before discovery progresses.

Eric Jackson contributed to this report.