IT'S NOT ALL IN THE FAMILY HEISMAN WINNER'S FATHER, FAMILY REACT TO CRITICISM.Byline: Doug Krikorian Staff Writer He is seated in a Long Beach restaurant surrounded by friends and his mother, and he is shaking his head sadly. ``Listen, I don't want anything other than to set the record straight,'' says Reggie Bush Reginald "Reggie" Bush, birth name: Reginald Alfred Bush II (born March 2, 1985 in San Diego, California), nicknamed 'The Human Highlight Reel' and 'The President', alluding to President Bush, is an American football player who plays for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. Sr., biological father of the Heisman Trophy-winning USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. running back. ``I'm not angling for money. I'm not angling for publicity. I'm not angling for sympathy. But it's just not fair the way I've been portrayed in recent times. ``Contrary to what some people might think, I have had a relationship with Reggie over the years, a good relationship. I've always been a part of his life. I used to go down to San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. as often as I could to watch his Pop Warner Pop Warner refers to
``He'd come up and spend many weekends with me here, and would stay longer during the summer. I've helped him out plenty over the years. I've bought him clothes, even the suit he wore when he visited the White House. He received a $9,000 check a year ago as part of my Social Security injury settlement. I attended his high school graduation. We've always gotten along well until this season when the relationship has turned rocky. I have no idea what's happened. I haven't spoken to him in about a month. All I know is that I've been cheated out of enjoying his dream season like I should be enjoying it. ``Still, I'm so proud of what he's done. Why wouldn't I be? After all, I'm his father. I'm not surprised by what he has accomplished. He was doing the same kind of things 10 years ago in Pop Warner. I'm so happy for him, but I'm unhappy about what's been going on, especially what happened Monday night in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of to my mother.'' According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Claudia Smith, who is Reggie Bush's grandmother, she was deprived of going to the Heisman Trophy Heisman Trophy Annual award given to the outstanding college gridiron football player in the U.S. The trophy was instituted in 1935 by New York City's Downtown Athletic Club and was officially named the following year for the club's first athletic director, the player-coach dinner with her niece. A Heisman official refused to sell a person representing Smith tickets because ``we might cause some trouble.'' ``What trouble am I going to cause?'' she says. ``I love my grandson, and have been close to him all his life. I don't want to go into things I've done for him, but let's just say I've helped him out financially over the years. I flew back there to honor him, and a person I know was going to buy us two $500 tickets. But when he told the Heisman person it was for us, he was turned down. I was shocked. I went down to the Heisman office Tuesday morning to find out the reason we were turned down, but it was closed.'' Adds Bush Sr.: ``I've never said anything about what's been going on in recent times, but when you diss diss v. Variant of dis. diss Verb Slang, chiefly US to treat (a person) with contempt [from disrespect] Verb 1. on my mother that is quite upsetting to me.'' Although Reggie Bush Sr. and Claudia Smith won't come out and say it, you get the distinct impression they believe the strained feelings that have surfaced in recent weeks have been orchestrated or·ches·trate tr.v. or·ches·trat·ed, or·ches·trat·ing, or·ches·trates 1. To compose or arrange (music) for performance by an orchestra. 2. by LaMar Griffin, who has been the USC tailback's stepfather since he was two. ``There are a lot of things I can say and reveal, but that's not my style,'' says Reggie Bush Sr. `` Let's just say I'm about pride and respect, and other people are about money. To be honest with you, I wouldn't be here right now being interviewed, except I want to set the record straight about some negativity surrounding me. And the record is I love my son and I've always been a part of his life. I've watched all his college games, attended most of them at the Coliseum Coliseum: see Colosseum. .'' ``The same with me,'' says Smith, ``and I even went to the game at Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame this season.'' In this week's issue of Time magazine, Reggie Bush was quoted as describing his relationship with his biological father as ``a roller coaster'' that complicated his childhood. He also was quoted as saying, ``It was tough with both sides of the family not getting along too well.'' The facial resemblance between Reggie Bush Sr. and his famous son is striking, and the two could pass for identical twins identical twins pl.n. Twins derived from the same fertilized ovum that at an early stage of development becomes separated into independently growing cell aggregations, giving rise to two individuals of the same sex, identical genetic makeup, and if Bush Sr. weren't 20 years older and 20 pounds lighter than his 200-pound, 20-year-old son. ``When I see Reggie run, he reminds me of myself,'' Bush, who was a star running back in the early 1980s at Hawthorne High, says before pausing with a soft smile. ``Where do you think he got his greatness from?'' He has been married for the past 16 years and has two daughters, Doniele, 13, and Dezhane, 10, but he and his wife Sheila have been separated for two months. ``We've been apart, but we're on good terms and are working to get back together,'' he says. Born in Indianola, Miss., and raised in Chicago, Reggie Bush Sr. moved to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. with his mother when he was 15. He played football and basketball, but dropped out of high school his senior year to attend the California Conservation Corps The California Conservation Corps (CCC) is a state agency modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and was initiated as a pet project in 1976 by then Governor Jerry Brown. , a job-developing organization. It was there he met Denise Lewis Denise Lewis OBE (born August 27, 1972, in West Bromwich, England) is a British athlete who specialises in the heptathlon. Her greatest triumph was winning the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. , who later would become the mother of his only son. ``We were young at the time, and I wasn't really ready to be a father,'' says Bush. ``But I was there the day after Reggie was born, and have always taken an interest in my son.'' Reggie Bush Sr. is a soft-spoken, low-key, mannerly man·ner·ly adj. Having or showing good manners. See Synonyms at polite. adv. With good manners; politely. man fellow who has not had an easy life. A serious car accident in 1990 while he was working as a truck driver left Bush Sr. disabled with an impaired back that needed surgery. Since then, he has been unable to work and collected an $800 monthly disability check from the government. He says this has been the best of times for him, seeing his son become the most celebrated performer in college football. Yet it's also the worst of times, since his relationship with him has become tense for reasons he doesn't understand. ``I love my son and wish him the best,'' he says. ``When I go to the store to buy something and people see my ID or credit card, the reaction has been just unbelievable. `You're Reggie Bush's dad?' they say. And I nod proudly. Yes, I am, and no one can ever take that away from me.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Reggie Bush and his biological father have a strained relationship. Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News (2) Reggie Bush Sr. and his mother, Claudia Smith, are tired of the negative perceptions about their family . Steven Georges/Staff Photographer |
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