NFL players, NBA players and retired pro athletes are calling for Skip Bayless to be fired for comments he made in the aftermath of Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffering cardiac arrest on the field during “Monday Night Football.”
After the Bills-Bengals game was suspended in Cincinnati, the “Undisputed” host took to Twitter to chime in on the situation.
“No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how?” Bayless tweeted as medical personnel tended to Hamlin on the field in Cincinnati. “This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”
Bayless appeared on the Fox Sports debate show Tuesday morning without his co-host Shannon Sharpe, who he said he hoped would return on Tuesday.
Bayless’ Monday night tweet received immediate backlash, with NFL players, including Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner and free agent wideout Dez Bryant, firing back at the Fox host.
“Are you seriously talking about when the football game should be postponed?” Gardner tweeted. “Damar Hamlin’s health is ALL that matters at the moment! Nothing else!!!”
Meanwhile, Bryant shared a number of tweets slamming Bayless.
“WE NEED TO CANCEL @RealSkipBayless ASAP!!!” Bryant wrote, adding in another tweet, “[F–K] YOU SKIP BAYLESS.”
More pro athletes continued to express displeasure with Bayless’ tweet.
Free agent NBA point guard Isaiah Thomas replied to Bayless, writing, “I hope they fire you bro!!! For you to even THINK of the game is very sad.”
ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins wrote, “You’re a sick individual. Real Talk.”
Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens reposted Bayless’ tweet to Instagram and said it is “the most despicable tweet ever,” adding, “I hope you LOSE YOUR JOB!!”
Former NBA champion Matt Barnes commented under Owens’ post, writing, “Someone gonna slap the [sh-t] outa skip one of these days.”
Bayless then apologized in a separate tweet, writing Monday night, “Nothing is more important than that young man’s health. That was the point of my last tweet. I’m sorry if that was misunderstood but his health is all that matters. Again, everything else is irrelevant. I prayed for him & will continue to.”
Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during “Monday Night Football” against the Bengals. Follow the New York Post’s live coverage for injury updates on his condition.
Prior to his controversial tweet about postponing the game, Bayless did say that he said a prayer for Hamlin and his family.
“Not exactly sure what happened to Damar Hamlin,” Bayless tweeted amid the tragic scene on Monday night. “Players on both teams are shaken. Ambulance out on the field. CPR administered. Can’t remember play being stopped for this length of time. Just said a prayer for him and his family.
He continued: “I’ve seen so many horrific injuries suffered on football fields yet never have I seen a reaction like this. In every other situation I witnessed or covered, the game always went on fairly quickly. The attitude was, “Hey, that’s football.” For these players, this was DIFFERENT.”
According to the Bills, Hamlin is currently sedated and listed in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where the second-year safety was transported by ambulance.
The Bills-Bengals game was postponed after Hamlin collapsed on the field in the first quarter after making a hard tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. The 24-year-old initially got up after the hit and appeared disoriented before falling to the ground on his back.
CPR was performed on Hamlin on the field after his collapse, and his heartbeat was restored on the field before he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment.
Jordon Rooney, the CEO of sports marketing agency Jaster Athletes who is Hamlin’s marketing representative and friend, provided an update on Twitter Monday night.
“[Hamlin’s] vitals are back to normal and they have put him to sleep to put a breathing tube down his throat. They are currently running tests,” Rooney wrote.
The University of Cincinnati Medical Center did not anticipate making any statement early Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday’s installment of Fox’s “Undisputed,” Bayless apologized for discussing regular sports topics with Hamlin’s life still in jeopardy.
“I’ll admit up front, I’m still shook up by what happened last night to Damar Hamlin,” Bayless said. “In fact, I’m still wrecked. In fact, I’m not sure I’m capable of doing this show today. After barely sleeping on it, I decided to give it a try.
“… We rustled through much of the night whether to even do a show today because it felt like in our minds we almost can’t win with this because the last thing we want to try to do is come off as insensitive to what this young man is going through in a life or death situation. The last thing we want to do is offend anyone by trying to do what we always do, which is talk about sports.”
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