ESPN's Bill Simmons Had to Withdraw NBA MVP Vote Over LeBron James Bet

From ESPN PR via email:

" “Bill had never received a ballot before and didn’t find out he had one until two-thirds of the season had passed. By that time he had made multiple MVP bets, two of which he had discussed on podcasts. He ended up withdrawing his MVP vote to avoid the perception of any conflict.” "

Simmons placed his bet before he knew he had an MVP vote. Not sure there was sinister intent here, but media privileges come with media codes of conduct. Guessing anyone else would be facing a lot more flack for this.