Bryce Love Doesn't Need to Be at Pac-12 Media Days in Person to Get Your Heisman Vote

Bryce Love isn’t at the Pac-12 Media Day in Hollywood in person. He did participate in a media session via Skype, because he was staying in Palo Alto due to his summer school schedule as he targets a December graduation in human biology. So, he kind of had a very good reason.

That didn’t stop Dennis Dodd from writing that his absence starts a dangerous precedent. First, Dodd dismissed that Love was there “in spirit only” when he actually participated–which isn’t what “in spirit only” means.

"Put it this way: Try to envision Tim Tebow in his heyday skipping SEC Media Days of because, well, school. Right or wrong, that wouldn’t have happened. The need to better himself, the conference and his school would have outstripped another summer school lecture. *** The public probably doesn’t care if Love was here or not. The kid is going to win the Heisman by running for 2,000 yards again and leading the Cardinal to a 10-win season — not necessarily by showing up in person to a media day. But his absence does set a dangerous precedent. This is going to give every star player an excuse to Skype in."

Just so we are clear here, Dodd is saying that a player attending classes, and thus having that exact reason for not being at a fluffy media event, sets a dangerous precedent where everyone will skip out. He then goes on to issue this … warning?

“Let’s just say Stanford forfeited a bit of a leverage to protest if Love doesn’t win the Heisman. Five different times Cardinal players have finished second in Heisman voting since 2009.”

What in blue blazes does that mean? Is he suggesting that his absence at an event in August has an impact on whether someone should vote for him if deserving? A statement like that could only come from someone self-important enough to whine publicly when Aaron Rodgers declines an impromptu request for an interview at a NCAA Tournament game.

I’m not with this argument in spirit.