What I once considered to be must-watch television growing up, ESPN’s ESPY awards show, has become a broadcast that I do not at all mind missing out on. With virtually nothing going on in the sports world as Major League Baseball’s All-Star break was underway and with football, basketball, and hockey out of season, July 13^th belonged to the mothership. At least ESPN did not pre-record the show, release all of the winners, and broadcast the ESPYs four days later (a common practice previous to this year). Regardless, just as I did during last year’s ESPYs, I found something else to do. I would much rather celebrate a roommate’s birthday than sit through something sure to grind my gears.

Do not get me wrong, the ESPYs has its moments. Athletes poke fun at each other and numerous awe-inspiring stories are shared, but for the past couple of years ESPN has managed to do something that rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Last year it was their presentation of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award to Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner.

The Arthur Ashe Courage Award—as its name suggests—is awarded annually to courageous individuals who's contributions to the world “transcend sports”. It was first awarded in 1993 to NC State Basketball Coach Jim Valvano, who delivered one of the most powerful speeches in the event's history and created The V Foundation for Cancer Research before losing his battle to the disease. Among many distinguished individuals, past recipients also include Muhammad Ali, Pat Tillman (who gave up a promising career in the NFL to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan after the attacks of September 11^th), and Nelson Mandela. This year’s winner, 15-year-old Zaevion Dobson, gave his life to shield two of his friends from an active shooter. If you have not done so already, please watch his story here.

Jenner was awarded the ESPY due to an agreement between the two parties in exchange for an exclusive interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer. The interview, which was promoted heavily by ESPN, was the first time Jenner had made a public statement about being transgender. Why did this happen? Well, ESPN is owned by Disney/ABC. Rather than last year’s Arthur Ashe Courage Award going to Lauren Hill, a college athlete that played basketball despite having a brain tumor that would eventually claim her life, or Noah Galloway, a veteran of the Iraq War and double-amputee who competes in extreme endurance competitions, it was given (for selfish reasons) to former Olympian turned reality-star who never underwent gender reassignment surgery.

This year, the outrage was directed at something far more puzzling. Finalists for the ESPY for ‘Best Play’ of the year included:

Lebron James’ block on Andre Igoudala during a tied Game 7 of the NBA Finals,

a 61-yard Hail Mary from Aaron Rodgers to Richard Rodgers to cap a 20-point Packer comeback at the end of a Week 13 game against the Detroit Lions,

Villanova’s Kris Jenkins’ buzzer-beating three point shot to bury North Carolina in the National Championship game,

and the botched Michigan punt that was returned for the game-deciding touchdown by Michigan State’s Jalen Watts-Jackson as time expired.

Side note: I was in Ann Arbor for the botched punt. The aftermath was pure insanity. Shouting matches between Michigan and Michigan State fans on the walk from the stadium, burning couches in the streets, bottles being thrown off of roofs, you name it.

While the Rodgers-to-Rodgers Hail Mary is most definitely impressive, the play was written off in many minds as a placeholder amongst one of the wildest moments in college football history and two iconic championship moments. While disappointed, I would have been far less surprised to see LeBron’s block take the award, and ESPN’s long-documented obsession with him has been the subject of scrutiny in the past. However, Villanova was the supposed favorite leading up to the announcement.

The cold-shouldering of Jenkins’ shot elicited this response from Final Four MVP and recent San Antonio Spur free-agent signee Ryan Arcidiacono.

Though fan voting plays a role in the selection of ESPY winners, recent history may have soured ESPN from giving any Big East institution more than minimal recognition. How does one of the greatest buzzer-beaters of all time on such a massive stage go unrewarded? The answer may be due to the Big East Conference’s fallout with ESPN in 2013 when the league slimmed to ten members from sixteen and signed a long-term television deal with FOX.

Recency bias also won out as Villanova may have been snubbed for the ‘Best Game’ and ‘Best Coach’ awards, both of which belonged to the NBA. I am fine with Game seven of the NBA Finals beating out the NCAA basketball national championship game. I do take issue with Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue being awarded ‘Best Coach’ though. He was more of a coat tree than anything else this year, and LeBron runs the entire Cavaliers organization. Jay Wright led a team with no NBA draft picks to a national championship, a feat that last happened ten years ago. In an era dominated by the one-and-done superstar, what Villanova accomplished was quite the anomaly.

All in all, since ESPN can no longer profit so lucratively off of the Big East and Villanova, they do their best to keep these teams at an arm’s length and their recognition to a minimum. Big time sports are a business, and Villanova’s surprisingly poor showing at the ESPYs holds this truth to be self-evident.