Nearly six months ago, Reggie Bush was part of the Cinderella story New Orleans Saints, helping his team to a Super Bowl victory and, ostensibly, bringing much-needed pride back to the city on the Gulf.

But Bush was never fully accepted as part of that journey, at least not in the eyes of the sports media.

Since the summer and fall of 2006, Bush was the headline of the NCAA’s investigation into U. Southern California.

That investigation, which was later coupled with another one of USC basketball star O.J. Mayo, hung over Bush’s head, and his name was never mentioned without the qualifier of “who is under investigation by the NCAA.”

That all came to a head when the NCAA levied sanctions against the school in June. A month later, and we have USC’s childish and bitter response.

The school will be taking down murals of both Bush and Mayo and will send back its copy of the Heisman Trophy that Bush won in 2006.

Nothing shows remorse and understanding like tearing down pictures of school heroes.

The Trojans had no problem with Bush’s conduct — proper or otherwise — while he was in uniform.

They felt perfectly fine to exploit the young man for financial and athletic gain. Back then, it didn’t matter if he had done anything improper.

They didn’t care.

But now that Bush is gone and the NCAA has taken its sweet time in figuring out where the Bush saga went wrong, USC is finally starting to care.

In a memo Tuesday, C.L. Max Nikias, who will be the school’s new president, announced USC will return one of sports most prized awards.

This dog and pony show is pathetic, and it smacks of insincerity.

The cat got caught with the canary, and now the cat is trying to tape the head back on the bird and show that everything is as it should be.

If Bush was dumb for allegedly taking money and other gifts while at USC, then the school is dumber for thinking sending back a piece of metal shows anything but ignorance.

Debate always rages about whether college athletes should be paid, whether a scholarship and some money for books, board and food is enough compensation for students who drive millions of dollars in universities’ coffers.

If anything USC has proven those athletes should be paid.

The quaint notion of playing for a school, building loyalty and getting an education is a sham, but that is not news.

Big-time college athletics are big-time financial boons for universities, and those schools could not care less about the young men they exploit on the way to making millions.

The system works.

The schools get their money, the NCAA gets to preach its bankrupt moral authority and the athletes get screwed.

And everything is fine, until five years down the road when the NCAA decides to penalize a school after all the offenders have left on their merry way.

But USC is the big loser in all of this, and not just because of the sanctions.

The school showed it has no investment in its student-athletes.

And if it wants to save money, here’s an idea for the next mural: When you have finished painting the would-be hero, next to him put an administrator looking the other way.