In the past six years, notable on-air personalities from the biggest sports debate shows on television have been publically ridiculed due to controversial tweets, unpopular opinions, or misspeaking on camera.
At one point or another, people like Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe, and Will Cain have all been subject to a level of backlash. Still, the recent wave of criticism facing Skip Bayless has included an outpouring of outrage from professional athletes, many of whom seem to have united against him on one specific principle. During a pivotal Monday night football game against Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills free safety Damar Hamlin collided with Tee Higgins and suffered a cardiac arrest on the field. As the paramedics, players, and coaches gathered around Damar, Skip tweeted the following. “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 regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”