Diego Pavia erupted on Heisman voters after coming in second place.
Diego Pavia is now running damage control following his shocking behavior.
While Fernando Mendoza is enjoying his Heisman Trophy victory, the Vanderbilt quarterback was lashing out. Pavia, the Commodores’ veteran signal caller, was upset with how the voters came to their result on Saturday night.
“F-All the voters,” he wrote to his Instagram Stories as he added a thumbs-down emoji. “But…family for life.” He finished in second place, though it was distant after receiving 189 first-place votes to Mendoza’s 643 votes.
He further made things worse by hitting a nightclub to party and still throwing shots. Pavia was spotted partying in a New York City club after the Heisman ceremonies. One sign that Diego Pavia brought with him said, “F–k Indiana.”
24 hours later, and Diego Pavia is realizing the errors of his ways.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia blasted those whose final ballots did not include him ahead of Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Following negative backlash, the SEC Player of the Year published a lengthy apology.
“Being a part of the Heisman ceremony last night as a finalist was such an honor,” Pavia wrote Sunday. “As a competitor, just like in everything I do, I wanted to win. To be so close to my dream and come up short was painful. I didn’t handle those emotions well at all and did not represent myself the way I wanted to.”
“I have much love and respect for the Heisman voters and the selection process, and I apologize for being disrespectful. It was a mistake, and I am sorry.
“Fernando Mendoza is an elite competitor and a deserving winner of the award. I have nothing but respect for his accomplishments, as well as the success that Jeremiyah and Julian had this season. I’ve been doubted my whole life. Every step of my journey, I’ve had to break down doors and fight for myself, because I’ve learned that nothing would be handed to me. My family has always been in my corner, and my teammates, coaches, and staff have my six. I love them — I am grateful for them. — and I wouldn’t want anything to distract from that. I look forward to competing in front of my family and with my team one more time in the ReliaQuest Bowl.”
Pavia’s behavior left a sour taste in the mouths of many people following the program’s historic 10-win season. Not to mention, he was also the first Heisman finalist in school history. This is not the type of behavior that NFL teams would want to bring on their team.
Pavia’s vulgar reaction is far from shocking. He previously stated that both his stats and tape reflect “undoubtedly the best player in college football.”
Diego Pavia’s play on the field drew as much attention as his personality off of it. He threw for 3,192 yards with 27 touchdowns to eight interceptions this season. The star quarterback also had 826 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.
