Skip Bayless may have won the competition for being canceled the fastest following a bizarre tweet following Damar Hamlin’s on-field cardiac arrest during the Bills’ clash with the Bengals.
The former ESPN commentator turned Fox host is no stranger to controversial jokes and has made a living out of outlandish takes, but this latest opinion has ruffled the feathers of fans and other pundits.
The matchup between the Super Bowl contenders Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals has been called off following Damar Hamlin’s on-field collapse, later confirmed to be the result of cardiac arrest.
In fact, calling games off altogether is a rarity in the NFL despite the nature of the sport being the cause of some head injuries, concussions and broken bones. However, a situation as dire as this has left the football world in shock and the silence that fell over Paul Brown Stadium was eerie.
Skip Bayless, however, has a different opinion, taking to Twitter to express his bewilderment as to why the game was called off despite it being one of the heavyweight matchups in the penultimate round of the regular season.
No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game, but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the outcome of the regular season … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 3, 2023
Unsurprisingly, the tweet was met with a monumental wave of backlash from the soccer community, with many of the 100,000 responses labeling Bayless’ opinion “disgusting” while others, including the 12-time All NBA star Isiah Thomas called for him to be fired from his broadcasting role.
This is so disgusting.
— kel (@kellihubly) January 3, 2023
I hope you get fired bro!!! For you, even THINKING about the game is very sad.
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) January 3, 2023
One of the worst tweets in the history of sports media.
— Kyle Sockwell (@kylesockwell) January 3, 2023
Bayless was later forced to backtrack on his comments, taking to Twitter to apologize for what he perceived to be a misunderstanding by followers.
Despite this, many believe this could be the last straw for the TV personality who has a long history of inflated takes and inciting controversial talking points.
Nothing is more important than the health of that young man. That was the point of my last tweet. I’m sorry if he misunderstood, but his health is the only thing that matters. Once again, everything else is irrelevant. I prayed for him and I will continue to do so.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 3, 2023
