Reggie Bush took the unprecedented step of giving back his Heisman Trophy on Tuesday, saying the scandal over improper benefits while he was a star running back at Southern California should not stain “the dignity of this award.” The New Orleans Saints’ star won the Heisman – symbol of the best player in college football – in 2005. Returning the trophy has no practical effect on Bush since he’s already in the pros and a member of a Super Bowl championship team. However, it is the first time in the award’s 75-year history that a player has returned it. USC was hit with heavy sanctions by the NCAA this summer after it determined Bush and his family had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from two fledgling California-based marketing agents.

– Associated Press