Why everyone hates Skip Bayless

Friends,

Skip Bayless is not your average media personality. He’s been involved in everything from print journalism to radio to television and has been covering sports for 40-plus years. He’s known by most as the host of a popular sports debate show called “Undisputed,” airing weekdays on FS1.

Before Skip came to FS1, he worked alongside Stephen A. Smith on ESPN First Take. Smith said, “I wouldn’t be on First Take if it wasn’t for Skip Bayless.” Stephen A. always credits Bayless for playing an instrumental role in reviving his career. Skip had been on the show several years before Smith’s arrival. At the time, First Take was something new and fresh and was beginning to take off and become a huge success.

Although controversial, at times, I enjoyed hearing Skip’s perspective. And as unpopular as his Takes might’ve been, I always tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. But trust me, I get it, he’s not everyone’s cup of tea. He’s not even mine.

I do enjoy a good debate, and for years, Skip and Stephen A. delivered.

Skip is known as a LeBron hater. And for the past 20-plus years, Skip has dissected every part of LeBron’s game. He’s followed his every move on and off the court.

In an ESPN SportsNation chat from 2009, he seems to explain the origin of his LeBron hate.

“Dear LeBron … never have I seen a player with zero rings heap more pressure on himself by acting more brazenly cocky about how he’s going to go win this championship. You dance during blowouts, you flex, and you snap pictures before games … it’s as if you’re going to have the ring ceremony before Sunday’s Game 1 vs. Pistons. You have now hit one walk-off-jumper in six NBA seasons — Jordan did that every other week. So now it’s time to start showing us what you’ve got. No more excuses. Back it up, and you will be King” (SOS, 2023).

Skip’s hate for LeBron is clear. But I’m quite sure Skip didn’t expect things to go left during a show with co-analyst Jalen Rose. In 2012, Bayless, a former high school basketball player, boasted about his playing days.

“Bayless made claims on Twitter that he started for his high school basketball team that reached the state finals.  After some research, it became clear Bayless's comments were, in fact, lies. In reality, he scored a grand total of 21 points in 15 games as the "starting" point guard for the 1970 state runner-up. That averages out to 1.4 points per game. Today, during ESPN's First Take, co-analyst Jalen Rose went after Bayless. "Did you average 1.4 points points as a senior?" Rose questioned. "Yeah, yeah, I did," a dejected Bayless admitted. "We'll address that later." Rose continued by asking: "So all of that Pistol Pete stuff? Yeah, (more like) Water Pistol Pete Jr. Did you play JV as a junior?" To which Bayless again admitted: "Yeah, I did” (CBS, 2012).

Trust me, it gets worse. Skip’s been in several spats with some of professional sports’ most beloved figures. Allen Iverson, Chris Bosh, Russell Westbrook, and Richard Sherman are a few that come to mind. But this is in no way, an exhaustive list.

My next example is probably where many more people joined the Skip Bayless hate bandwagon, and rightfully so.

This past January, Skip sent a controversial tweet during a Buffalo Bills week 17 matchup against Cincinnati. This is the game where Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field. While healthcare personnel were trying to save a man’s life, Skip decided to make an insensitive tweet about how difficult it would be to postpone a game that late in the season.

With the recent departure of Shannon Sharpe, Skip is now alongside the likes of Richard Sherman, Michael Irvin, and Keyshawn Johnson.

And, a few days ago, he was involved in a heated exchange with Richard.

Skip and Richard were debating hip-drop tackles because many players have been injured recently. Sherman defended the exercise and took a shot at Bayless because he never played.

“You’re not speaking from experience, so stop raising your voice, Skip,” Sherman said. Then, after Bayless brought up his covering the league longer than Sherman played in it, the former cornerback got even more heated. “You’re speaking on something you have no experience doing,” Sherman told Bayless. “You’ve covered the game? I’ve actually played the game longer than you ever played! What we’re talking about is something that actually happens in the game that you can’t experience unless you play it” (S.I.,2023)

I’m not sure what’ll happen next, but with Skip, there’s never a dull moment.

Joseph Thompson is a Professional Registered Nurse with a love and passion for sports. Check out his medium profile and get notified when he publishes new content. Thank you for your support!

References

CBS Interactive. (2012, April 10). Video: Jalen Rose calls out Skip Bayless for lying about his playing career. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/video-jalen-rose-calls-out-skip-bayless-for-lying-about-hs-playing-career/

Richard Sherman, Skip Bayless get into testy ‘undisputed’ exchange. (2023 Nov. 25). https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/11/22/richard-sherman-skip-bayless-undisputed-testy-exchange

Slice of Sports Podcast. (2020 Oct.7). https://sites.northwestern.edu/sliceofsports/skip-bayless-how-is-sports-medias-most-hated-man-so-popular/