Leaving Alabama off AP Top 25 ballot accomplishes nothing but bringing attention to the voter

College athletics are in uncharted territory these days. More and more of the old rules no longer apply. Change is happening so rapidly that it is unsettling for sports built on tradition, such as college football and basketball. All we can do is adjust to the times while continuing to watch the games.

Connor Earegood of The Detroit News, however, has seen enough. He doesn’t like what’s going on and has decided to protest. Earegood, an AP Top 25 poll voter, got on his moral high horse by refusing to vote for Alabama. His reasoning? Earegood is upset that Charles Bediako was granted eligibility under a 10-day temporary restraining order issued by a Tuscaloosa judge that allowed him to return to the Crimson Tide.

Today’s AP Poll is out. A note on my ballot: I did not rank Alabama this week.

I will not rank a team that has to circumvent the rules through a court order just to win (and still lost). To me, that’s a team admitting its own weakness.

— Connor Earegood (@ConnorEaregood) January 26, 2026

Bediako, who turns 24 in March, played for Alabama during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. He left early to enter the 2023 NBA Draft. Although he went undrafted and never played an NBA game, he has spent the past three seasons with three G League teams. In his debut, Bediako had 13 points in Saturday’s 79-73 home loss to Tennessee. On Tuesday, he scored 14 points in a 90-64 home victory over Missouri. No.23 Alabama improved to 14-6, 4-3 in the Southeastern Conference.

The decision on Bediako’s eligibility raises questions, and it’s entirely understandable for Earegood to disagree with it. Fine. But denying Alabama a vote when the team, by most objective measures, is a top-25 program is unnecessary, meaningless, and silly. If Earegood is so outraged, he could have abstained altogether, given up his ballot for the remainder of the season, or permanently. Then he could have explained why. Agree or disagree, we would all respect that choice.

Instead, Earegood wants to keep voting and selectively single out Alabama with an ineffective punishment. Does he think he is walking in the path of righteousness? College basketball will go on, thank you very much. The AP poll has little, if any, influence on the NCAA tournament selection process or seeding. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX3dICmxD5M

You shouldn’t begrudge Alabama for using every legal means at its disposal to win games. In the SEC, where it just means more, that’s an obligation. An AP voter has one job. Judge teams by their on-court performance, not by legal rulings that don’t align with your interpretation of fair play. If Earegood doesn’t like it, don’t vote.

For too long, we’ve had a warped sense that college sports are pure and that somebody must protect that purity at all costs. If you’re mad about what’s going on now, blame the highly paid administrators who are still fighting against reasonable solutions, like a collective bargaining agreement that would bring stability.

Alabama is an easy, convenient target. Bediako’s journey back to school is unprecedented. He is the first to play in college, declare for the NBA draft, sign an NBA contract, play three years in the G League, and then return to college.

Earegood believes he’s speaking for the sanctity of the sport. He’s just speaking for himself. Unless a parade of fellow voters follows, this will be remembered as an empty gesture. The only benefit is that suddenly, more people know who Connor Earegood is. Attention is currency these days. Perhaps that was his intention all along. Mission accomplished.