What did FOX Sports’ Skip Bayless say about the Damar Hamlin situation and how have people responded?
As much as debate may follow about what the veteran analyst meant by his comments, the reality is ambiguity in such a severe situation is unacceptable.
While he’s no stranger to controversy, the FOX Sports journalist may have finally crossed a line that he can’t come back from, in the wake of the terrible scenes that were witness on Monday night during the Bills vs Bengals game.
What happened to Damar Hamlin?
Though we’re sure you already know, let’s set the scene for you. During the Monday Night Football clash between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on field after suffering what was later confirmed as a cardiac arrest. In scenes that can only be described as harrowing, Hamlin could be seen grabbing his chest before he fainted on the field after making a tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin was given CPR, but it is understood that he had to be placed on oxygen while being transported in the ambulance that took him to the hospital.
It is of course an interesting point of context, to note that this is the said same field - Paycor Stadium - on which Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a severe concussion and subsequently lost consciousness when his team faced the Bengals back in Week 4. With that in mind, it’s interesting to note that the league’s response to Hamlin’s situation was largely commended in comparison with that of Tagovailoa’s which drew widespread criticism. That is of course, unless you listened to FOX Sports journalist, Skip Bayless.`
What did FOX Sports’ Skip Bayless say about Damar Hamlin’s situation?
As we now know, the NFL ultimately took the decision to indefinitely postpone Monday night’s game between The Bills and the Bengals, due to the severe nature of Hamlin’s ordeal. Now, while they may seem like a fairly straightforward response - players on both sides were clearly shaken and rightly so - FOX Sports’ Skip Bayless was not impressed and actually made it clear that he wanted the game to continue. “No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game,” Bayless tweeted at the time. “But how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome...which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”
So, here’s the thing: Bayless, has never backed down from controversial and outrightly critical takes on various situations and players in sports. Indeed, this is a man who has frequently expressed outrage about Lakers star LeBron James, as well as the Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and even his own co-host on FOX, Shannon Sharpe. Yet, this is one time where it appears that Bayless went to far and there are many from the sporting world who made it clear that his words were not appreciated.
What’s been said in response to Skip Bayless’ comments about Damar Hamlin?
From NFL free agent Dez Bryant, to former NBA center and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins, there were quite a few former and present athletes who made their stance clear when it came to Bayless’ comments and needles to say they weren’t happy. See for yourself:
Incidentally, Bayless has since given a response which you can see here, but the damage is likely done. With that said, one can be forgiven for asking if we’ve not been here before where FOX Sports’ analyst is concerned.