It’s official, Reggie Bush will return his Heisman Trophy.

Below is his official statement, issued by the New Orleans Saints (who were probably sick of Reggie being their lone bit of bad P.R. right now):

“One of the greatest honors of my life was winning the Heisman Trophy in 2005. For me, it was a dream come true. But I know that the Heisman is not mine alone. Far from it. I know that my victory was made possible by the discipline and hard work of my teammates, the steady guidance of my coaches, the inspiration of the fans, and the unconditional love of my family and friends. And I know that any young man fortunate enough to win the Heisman enters into a family of sorts. Each individual carries the legacy of the award and each one is entrusted with its good name.

It is for these reasons that I have made the difficult decision to forfeit my title as Heisman winner of 2005.”

It’s hard to give Reggie much credit — this was the right thing to do like taking care of your kids is the right thing to do. Factor in rumors saying he’d be forced to give the trophy back, and this feels like a pretty small act of contrition from a guy responsible for so much damage to the program. But still, this was a more respectful move than just throwing it off the roof of the Superdome or letting Johnny Knoxville blow it up as part of Jackass 3-D, so I guess we should give Reggie a nice golf clap for demonstrating an iota of class.

There is still no official word on whether or not the trophy will be awarded to the 2005 runner-up, Vince Young.  But in a statement, Young made it clear that while he respects Reggie’s victory, he’d be more than happy to give the hardware a good home. “If they send it over to me I am not going to say no to it.”

Update:

The Heisman Trust announced on September 15th that the award will remain vacated. Here is their statement:

“As a result of Reggie Bush’s decision to forfeit his title as Heisman winner of 2005, the Trustees have determined that there will be no Heisman Trophy winner for the year 2005.”