Bedoya named MLS Player of the Week

Philadelphia Union captain Alejandro Bedoya was named MLS Player of the Week based on the weight of the media vote conducted by the North American Soccer Reporters.

Bedoya grabbed national attention when he shouted into an on-field microphone for Congress to “do something now” about gun violence after scoring in the third minute against D.C. Untied but wasn’t included as one of the four finalists for the online fan vote.

This led fans to launch a grassroots campaign to get Bedoya the nod using the hashtag #VoteBedoya.

“We note the effort by fans to draft Bedoya into the league’s poll,” the NASR wrote on its Facebook page. “Those votes were not included in the official tally, but we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the sentiment. We thank you for your interest in our work, and for your participation throughout the season.”

The media vote accounts for 75 percent of the overall vote and the Union captain received 36.7 percent of the vote from media members and 27.5 percent overall. Colorado Rapids forward Kei Kamara finished second with 24.7 percent of the overall vote.

Bedoya made the bench for the MLS Team of the Week. Marco Fabian was on the team and head coach Jim Curtin was named coach of the week for the fourth time this season.

This is the first time Bedoya has won the award. He’s the 11th Union player to win the award and the third this season (Ilsinho and David Accam).