I'm posting these as I transcribe, so I'll keep adding ...
Opening comments ...
"Reggie means so much to so many people at USC -- our fans, most importantly his teammates, our players. This is really a special day for us, and I'm pleased to welcome him back to our family and I'm confident that he will use his incredible platform and influential voice to support and empower all of our student-athletes.
"So many things have changed over the last 10 years involving student-athlete welfare, student-athlete Name, Image, Likeness issues is a predominant initiative across the country right now, and Reggie has some insights and experiences that we can learn from, we can grow from that will be very valuable to us. I think that's what is so exciting. The time I had the opportunity meet Reggie for the first time, his love and affection for his teammates, for USC, for being a Trojan are so genuine and deep. We found that sentiment very, very inspiring. I know that Dr. Folt had an opportunity to visit with Reggie as well and had an opportunity to share so many different things about it. His remorse and his really sharing the challenges of what this meant to him and the devastation he had experienced knowing that USC was heavily penalized because of the situations connected to his actions. I think that was really important to us and being able to hear that from him. I'm anxious for him to continue to share his thoughts and views like he has recently, even as recent as today. ... I salute him for his candor and putting that together.
"Again, the support of his teammates was extremely strong. I'd be remiss if I didn't say thank you to Matt Leinart and others for their efforts to help us engage and bring a unique perspective that maybe we were not aware of because we were not here during that time. That was extremely valuable, and again I believe the passion from so many different people tied to USC was really a strong push of, hey, this is the right thing to do. When you think of our efforts associated with student-athlete welfare and our student-athlete-centric model here at USC that Dr. Folt and I are partnering on, this is certainly a part of that.
"I recognize that we don't have all the answers associated with how we're going to recognize Reggie, how we'll reintroduce things from the Heisman Trophy to retired numbers to all those different things. We will certainly get to that, and we certainly understand how important that is, but right now our focus is obviously on our existing student-athletes and the Covid challenge and obviously the challenges associated with other events in our country that are deeply troubling to us. So please bear with us as we work through some of those big challenges in putting it together. But we wanted to be clear, the first date, the first morning where we could comment on Reggie's association with USC that we wanted to welcome him back. That was very, very important to us, and I can't wait to see how Reggie advocates for student athletes and we hope to be a great partner in helping him make a difference, which I know he wants to do. All you have to do is look back at the wonderful work he's done off the field throughout his career. And I know it will be a special day for me when he can walk on campus with his three kids and his wonderful wife and be a part of what's going on at USC, and again is a part of the transformation of student-athlete welfare issues across the country."
With the Heisman, how much of that is USC's decision vs. input from the Heisman Trust?
"I know it's important to Reggie, it's important to our fans and so many people tied to USC and I have no idea what that process looks like. I just know as those discussions and pieces come together we are going to support Reggie just like we would support all of student-athletes. You're right, we do not have a plan or a clear direction associated with what that will look like. I just know it's important to Reggie, which makes it important to us, and we'll just have to see how that unfolds."
How long has USC been working toward this?
"I believe if you recall from Day 1 when I arrived I talked about the importance of listening and learning before leading, and I believe it was in the early days when I was exposed to our fans and to boosters, to leaders on campus that talked about this issue and the importance of us resolving it, having a position on it and beginning to work on it. It's been something we recognized the date was in place for us to be able to make this move, and I really have to salute Dr. Folt and so many people on campus that were focused on ensuring we put this together right, that we want to ensure everybody understands our full commitment to a compliance and effort that we believe on our campus is one of the best in the nation and that we're committed to winning with integrity within the rules and supporting our student-athletes.
"I think that's why the time moved quickly to this date from when I arrived in November, but a day didn't go by where people didn't talk about it. I believe we were most touched by athletes, former players, who not only played with Reggie but put on our iconic uniform and were a part of our program that recognized that this was something important to them. As I think about the relationships that we have with our athletes, whether they're a current student-athlete, or a former student-athlete, that is a critical piece of our future and what we stand for. As we recruit student-athletes to USC, we talk about being a Trojan for life and those benefits that come with it, and I believe that this is going to provide a platform for us to really look deep into how we support student-athletes and what we do to provide them with all the tools to be successful for their entire lives and to thrive. I'm thankful to Reggie and his teammates for helping us put that together for us."
Opening comments ...
"Reggie means so much to so many people at USC -- our fans, most importantly his teammates, our players. This is really a special day for us, and I'm pleased to welcome him back to our family and I'm confident that he will use his incredible platform and influential voice to support and empower all of our student-athletes.
"So many things have changed over the last 10 years involving student-athlete welfare, student-athlete Name, Image, Likeness issues is a predominant initiative across the country right now, and Reggie has some insights and experiences that we can learn from, we can grow from that will be very valuable to us. I think that's what is so exciting. The time I had the opportunity meet Reggie for the first time, his love and affection for his teammates, for USC, for being a Trojan are so genuine and deep. We found that sentiment very, very inspiring. I know that Dr. Folt had an opportunity to visit with Reggie as well and had an opportunity to share so many different things about it. His remorse and his really sharing the challenges of what this meant to him and the devastation he had experienced knowing that USC was heavily penalized because of the situations connected to his actions. I think that was really important to us and being able to hear that from him. I'm anxious for him to continue to share his thoughts and views like he has recently, even as recent as today. ... I salute him for his candor and putting that together.
"Again, the support of his teammates was extremely strong. I'd be remiss if I didn't say thank you to Matt Leinart and others for their efforts to help us engage and bring a unique perspective that maybe we were not aware of because we were not here during that time. That was extremely valuable, and again I believe the passion from so many different people tied to USC was really a strong push of, hey, this is the right thing to do. When you think of our efforts associated with student-athlete welfare and our student-athlete-centric model here at USC that Dr. Folt and I are partnering on, this is certainly a part of that.
"I recognize that we don't have all the answers associated with how we're going to recognize Reggie, how we'll reintroduce things from the Heisman Trophy to retired numbers to all those different things. We will certainly get to that, and we certainly understand how important that is, but right now our focus is obviously on our existing student-athletes and the Covid challenge and obviously the challenges associated with other events in our country that are deeply troubling to us. So please bear with us as we work through some of those big challenges in putting it together. But we wanted to be clear, the first date, the first morning where we could comment on Reggie's association with USC that we wanted to welcome him back. That was very, very important to us, and I can't wait to see how Reggie advocates for student athletes and we hope to be a great partner in helping him make a difference, which I know he wants to do. All you have to do is look back at the wonderful work he's done off the field throughout his career. And I know it will be a special day for me when he can walk on campus with his three kids and his wonderful wife and be a part of what's going on at USC, and again is a part of the transformation of student-athlete welfare issues across the country."
With the Heisman, how much of that is USC's decision vs. input from the Heisman Trust?
"I know it's important to Reggie, it's important to our fans and so many people tied to USC and I have no idea what that process looks like. I just know as those discussions and pieces come together we are going to support Reggie just like we would support all of student-athletes. You're right, we do not have a plan or a clear direction associated with what that will look like. I just know it's important to Reggie, which makes it important to us, and we'll just have to see how that unfolds."
How long has USC been working toward this?
"I believe if you recall from Day 1 when I arrived I talked about the importance of listening and learning before leading, and I believe it was in the early days when I was exposed to our fans and to boosters, to leaders on campus that talked about this issue and the importance of us resolving it, having a position on it and beginning to work on it. It's been something we recognized the date was in place for us to be able to make this move, and I really have to salute Dr. Folt and so many people on campus that were focused on ensuring we put this together right, that we want to ensure everybody understands our full commitment to a compliance and effort that we believe on our campus is one of the best in the nation and that we're committed to winning with integrity within the rules and supporting our student-athletes.
"I think that's why the time moved quickly to this date from when I arrived in November, but a day didn't go by where people didn't talk about it. I believe we were most touched by athletes, former players, who not only played with Reggie but put on our iconic uniform and were a part of our program that recognized that this was something important to them. As I think about the relationships that we have with our athletes, whether they're a current student-athlete, or a former student-athlete, that is a critical piece of our future and what we stand for. As we recruit student-athletes to USC, we talk about being a Trojan for life and those benefits that come with it, and I believe that this is going to provide a platform for us to really look deep into how we support student-athletes and what we do to provide them with all the tools to be successful for their entire lives and to thrive. I'm thankful to Reggie and his teammates for helping us put that together for us."
