Reggie Bush: Being called a cheater 'was the toughest part', USC football star recalls

Ex-USC Trojans football star Reggie Bush recalls the hurt he felt being called a cheater.

Former USC Trojans football star Reggie Bush looks back on the experience of being labeled a cheater by the NCAA. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Former USC Trojans football star Reggie Bush got his Heisman Trophy back, but he remains locked in a legal battle with the NCAA.

Bush filed suit against the NCAA for defamation of character as he alleges that he was labeled a cheater by the organization, remarks that hurt his reputation.

It's an accusation that troubles him still.

"It was tough for me, but being labeled a cheater was the toughest part," Bush said on All the Smoke podcast. "Going through that and also having to go through different stadiums in my career and hearing people chanting 'cheater' and 'liar' and all of these things. And in my head I couldn't believe it."

Bush defined a cheater in sports as "somebody who's taking some kind of performance enhancing drug or trying to somehow directly affect the game in a way that's in their favor."

"I've never failed a drug test in my life," he added. "So it's just crazy to me that I was somehow labeled a cheater when I never cheated."

Bush won the Heisman Trophy in 2005, when he ran for 1,740 yards and scored 16 rushing touchdowns for the Trojans, who went undefeated in the regular season.

But he returned his Heisman in 2010 after an NCAA investigation ruled the former Trojans star and his family accepted improper benefits when he was playing at USC.

Then in April, the Heisman Trust announced it would reinstate the Trophy to Bush.

"I am grateful to once again be recognized as the recipient of the Heisman Trophy," Bush said in a statement released by his attorneys.

"This reinstatement is not only a personal victory, but also a validation of the tireless efforts of my supporters and advocates who have stood by me throughout his arduous journey."

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