Reggie Bush’s life has been flipped upside down since a law-suit was filed against him Tuesday. Image from http://www.gx-5.com

I thought it would be fitting to spend this All Saints Day discussing the biggest Saint in the news: Reggie Bush. Last Tuesday a lawsuit was filed against Bush, accusing him and his family of taking $291,000 in cash and gifts while he was still playing at USC. That’s a big Pac-10 and NCAA no-no… Lloyd Lake, who filed the suit on behalf of himself and business partner Michael Michaels, claim they provided Bush with money and gifts in return for Bush’s promise to sign with their marketing agency, New Era Sports & Entertainment, upon entering the NFL. They claim that instead Reggie Bush violated their deal, by signing with someone else.

Some out there say that money hungry marketers led this would-be-saint astray. Others question the credibility of Lake, a known ex-con. Either way, Reggie Bush and his family have always maintained that they have done nothing wrong despite the growing body of evidence to the contrary.

This All Saints Day I have one thing to say: We’re not idiots, Reggie! And neither is the NCAA, nor the Pac-10. We all tried to turn a blind eye. It’s been a year and some change, and until a couple days ago the investigation moved like molasses. But it’s all out now. You have crumbs all over your shirt and your breath smells like chocolate chips! So stop friggin’ acting like you didn’t have your hand in the cookie jar.

–

The controversy first broke in April of 2006, when Yahoo! Sports connected the dots between the Bush family and Michael Michaels, a financial backer for New Era Sports & Entertainment. The damning Yahoo! Sports article accused the Bush family of living in a home rent-free, owned by Michaels and that his partner Lake had given Bush $13,000 cash for the purchase of a 1996 Impala among other cash and gifts. Since then other accusations have surfaced including that the pair helped the Bush and his family pay for trips, hotels and even gave them $28,000 to help the family pay off their debts. And they say they have the receipts to prove it.

You screwed up, Reggie. It doesn’t mean you don’t deserve that Heisman for your skills, because we all know that trophy ought to be yours, hands-down. What it means is you don’t deserve the Heisman because of your ethics. So let it go. When you hand it to Vince let him know “The world will always know who really won,” and let that asterisk be next to his name. So be it. But stop lying! Your dishonesty is tarnishing the Trojan image. Don’t take down USC, because you’re too scared to tell the truth.

People say…”Oh no! USC will have to forfeit games” …”It will screw Pete Carroll’s record.” You know what it’s screwing right now? Little things called honesty and integrity, that’s what. And when there’s so little left of that in sports, we’re going to need it wherever we can get it.

You screwed up Reggie, but be honest and you’ll see most people have the propensity to forgive and forget. Tell the truth and this scandal will die-down. The focus will switch to where it should be, your pro-career and all the good work you’ve done to revitalize post-Katrina New Orleans. And I would bet that if you do what’s right, in the end you’ll be remembered for what you are. Not as a liar, not as a cheater, but as a Saint.

*