Guest post by Katie O.
Do Nissan and ESPN hate our military?
For weeks at #HeismanHouse, fans have been casting votes for this year’s Heisman Trophy candidate fan favorite. It isn’t the actual Heisman vote, but it is a way to engage fans. Two weeks ago, Navy football’s record-breaking and record setting quarterback Keenan Reynolds received so many fan votes, he was moved to the main page with favorites Leonard Fournette and Derrick Henry, for an easier quick vote (rather than having to search through the write-in process.) He holds a double-digit lead over talking head favorite Henry.
And then it happened. Some time yesterday morning, Nissan removed Reynolds from the main page quick vote. Let that sink it. They removed the fan vote leader from the main page. You can quick vote number two, you can even quick vote number five. But not number one.
In 36 hours, after a social media firestorm and multiple calls to Nissan marketing for comment, there is still radio silence. Nissan and ESPN are refusing to give an explanation.
Which leads fans like me to make assumptions. Do they hate our military? Do they not value those that attend our nation’s service academies? Are they making it harder to vote for Reynolds so that one of their “preferred” choices wins the fan vote? Heisman talks about honor and integrity and then displays neither.
How it looked a few days ago:
How it looks now:
Current leaderboard:
What’s up, ESPN?
