Bush has no Heisman worries as long as the Juice is loose

O.J. Simpson.

There's your reason why Reggie Bush will keep his Heisman Trophy.

O.J. Simpson is reason No. 1 why Bush will keep his Heisman. (Getty Images)

Bush might have taken money/benefits from a prospective agent over the last couple of years. Lots of it. Might have papered the walls of a new house with it. The NCAA and Pac-10 are investigating.

The Heisman board of directors have said they will address the matter if Bush is ruled to have been ineligible last season when he won college football's ultimate trophy.

There even seems to be language on the Heisman ballot about candidates complying with NCAA rules.

But none about (alleged) murder.

Yup, O.J. is Bush's safety net. Bush's parents might have gotten a free house. The Heisman Trophy Trust hasn't dismissed the possibility of taking their son's trophy away.

Meanwhile, the 1968 winner still is. Two people are still dead. If that wasn't enough to strip a winner of his honors, then why are we having this discussion?

"Barring him committing a felony, it wouldn't be justified," said Lynne Draper, head of the National College Football Awards Association. Draper is also the executive director of the Thorpe Award, given to the nation's best defensive back.

"For us to take away an award would be a major, major cause ... I would approach this very, very carefully," he said.

Actually, they're not going to approach it all.

Forget possible NCAA transgressions; neither the Heisman folks -- nor any of their peers -- have the stomach for it. They signed up for the award thing to be civic-minded, slap the winner on the back, sidle up to a jock or two and maybe sip a few cocktails.

To consider stripping Bush, the Heisman Trust would be going to a dark, dangerous place. It has no penalty process in place that we know of. Pursuing Bush threatens to overshadow this year's, and future, on-field races.