Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
The University of Southern California's Heritage Hall displays six Heisman trophies. If senior Darian Nourian had his way, there would only be five.
In a column published last week on the Daily Trojan, Nourian urged the university to remove O.J. Simspon's trophy from the hall. After all, he argues, the school returned Reggie Bush's Heisman after the National Collegiate Athletic Association imposed sanctions on USC upon learning he had received improper benefits.
Many readers expressed strong disagreement with the opinion piece, with some chalking it up as typical of the millennial generation. That flabbergasted Nourian.
"That people would defend O.J., yeah it was very surprising to me," he told Take Two.
Nourian said that he understood why USC fans wouldn't want another Heisman Trophy gone.
"I'm not trying to advocate the Heisman Trophy trust to take away O.J. Simpson's Heisman Trophy. They had their chance back in the 1990s," he said. "But it is hard to swallow the fact that you can walk into Heritage Hall and see O.J. Simpson, a convicted felon, an incarcerated felon, be celebrated."
Listen to the full conversation above.