Bill Text: IL HR0546 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the NCAA to admit the flaws in its investigation of Reggie Bush and restore his statistics for the 2005 season. Urges the Heisman Trophy Trust to restore Reggie Bush's Heisman Trophy award.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-04 - Placed on Calendar Order of Resolutions [HR0546 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-HR0546-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The Heisman Trophy is awarded annually by the | ||||||
| 3 | Heisman Trophy Trust to recognize the best college football | ||||||
| 4 | player in the United States and was first awarded to Jay | ||||||
| 5 | Berwanger, representing the University of Chicago Maroons; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Reggie Bush, representing the University of | ||||||
| 7 | Southern California (USC) Trojans, was awarded the Heisman | ||||||
| 8 | Trophy in 2005 amidst consecutive National Championship Game | ||||||
| 9 | appearances for the Trojans and after having what is regarded | ||||||
| 10 | as one of the greatest seasons by a player in college football | ||||||
| 11 | history; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, In 2006, the National Collegiate Athletic | ||||||
| 13 | Association (NCAA) began investigating the Trojans' football | ||||||
| 14 | program for alleged violations of NCAA rules and regulations, | ||||||
| 15 | culminating in a report alleging that Reggie Bush's family | ||||||
| 16 | received impermissible benefits related to a potential future | ||||||
| 17 | marketing agreement but not that Reggie Bush himself had | ||||||
| 18 | received benefits for participating in athletics; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, In 2010, the NCAA declared that Reggie Bush's | ||||||
| 20 | statistics and the wins of the Trojans' football program would | ||||||
| 21 | be vacated for the 2005 season, leading to the revocation of | ||||||
| 22 | his Heisman Trophy award; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, California courts at the trial and appellate | ||||||
| 2 | level later found that the NCAA's report was false, | ||||||
| 3 | misleading, and unreliable; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Laws across the country, including in Illinois, | ||||||
| 5 | and updated NCAA rules now allow the type of marketing | ||||||
| 6 | agreements that were previously at question in alleged rules | ||||||
| 7 | violations by Reggie Bush and USC; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Under the rules of the Heisman Trophy Trust, | ||||||
| 9 | Reggie Bush's Heisman Trophy award cannot be restored until | ||||||
| 10 | the NCAA reinstates his statistics for the 2005 season; | ||||||
| 11 | therefore, be it
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| 12 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 13 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 14 | we urge the NCAA to admit the flaws in its investigation of | ||||||
| 15 | Reggie Bush and restore his statistics for the 2005 season; | ||||||
| 16 | and be it further
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| 17 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Heisman Trophy Trust to restore | ||||||
| 18 | Reggie Bush's Heisman Trophy award; and be it further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 20 | presented to NCAA President Charlie Baker, Heisman Trophy | ||||||
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