Fox Sports’ Skip Bayless refuses to delete Damar Hamlin tweet in argument with Shannon Sharpe’
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Fox Sports host Skip Bayless has defiantly refused to delete a tweet questioning the NFL’s decision to postpone Monday’s Bills-Bengals game following Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin’s heart attack on the field.
Bayless has been criticized by critics for the post, for which he apologized during Tuesday’s episode of Fox Sports “Undisputed” in the mysterious absence of co-host Shannon Sharpe.
Sharpe, a former NFL tight end, returned to the sports talk show Wednesday but was unable to finish his monologue without being interrupted by the grumpy Bayless.
“Skip tweeted something, and while I don’t agree with the tweet, I hope Skip will delete it,” Sharpe said before Bayless intervened.
“Timeout,” Bayless said Wednesday. “I’m not going to remove it, because I keep what I tweeted.”
Fox Sports host Skip Bayless (right) has defiantly refused to delete a tweet questioning the NFL’s decision to postpone Monday’s Bills-Bengals game following Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin’s heart attack on the field. Bayless has come under fire from critics for the tweet, which he addressed during Tuesday’s episode of Fox Sports ‘Undisputed,’ in which co-host Shannon Sharpe (left, Wednesday) was mysteriously absent.
Bayless’s offensive tweet came as Hamlin was being revived on the pitch at Paycor Stadium on Monday night.
“No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the remainder of this game, but how?” Bayless asked in his tweet. “At this point in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the outcome of the regular season … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”
The game was ultimately postponed indefinitely, and Hamlin is currently in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital.
“It looks like his trend is positive,” Hamlin’s uncle told CNN.
Bayless has faced an avalanche of criticism for the tweet, which many have called “insensitive”.
Bayless’s offensive tweet came as Hamlin was being revived on the pitch at Paycor Stadium on Monday night.
Buffalo Bills players react after teammate Damar Hamlin #3 was injured against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on Monday.
The game was ultimately postponed indefinitely, and Hamlin is currently in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital. “He looks like he’s trending up in a positive way,” Hamlin’s uncle said.
Sharpe also took issue with the tweet, although she stopped short of blaming him for her absence from Tuesday’s show.
“There’s been a lot of speculation as to why I wasn’t on the air yesterday, and I won’t go into speculation, guesswork, innuendo, but I will say this: Watching that game on Monday night, what happened to Damar Hamlin caught my eye. a little different,’ Sharpe said to kick off Wednesday’s show.
“As the brotherhood of the NFL, when injuries happen, and we know injuries are part of the game, I’ve seen guys suffer from ACL and Achilles tendon tears, but I’ve never had to see anyone to live and fight for. “. his life in the country, so it struck me a little differently, because I remember seeing my brother [former Packers receiver Sterling Sharpe] paralyzed in the field, temporarily, and was able to regain focus.
That was when Bayless interrupted Bayless for the first time.
“Skip, let me finish,” Sharpe told his former co-host.
“No, you go,” Bayless said, seeming to relent.
Sharpe snapped back, “I can’t even finish a monologue without you interrupting me.”
Sharpe then tried to refocus the conversation by referencing Tuesday’s absence and reiterating his concern for Hamlin.
“I was just going to say, Skip, I didn’t want to, yesterday, get into a situation where Damar Hamlin was the problem,” Sharpe continued. We should be talking about him and not get into your tweet.
That’s what I was going to do. But you can’t even let me finish my opening monologue without you interrupting me.
Bayless was apparently unaware that Sharpe would be broaching the subject on Wednesday.
“I was under the impression you weren’t going to bring this up, because no one here had a problem with that tweet,” Bayless said.
Sharpe disagreed.
“Clearly the bosses wanted you to offer an explanation,” Sharpe said.
Bayless calmly replied, “No, they didn’t.”
Both Bayless and Sharpe seemed agitated as the segment came to a close, but they refrained from raising their voices again.
His tweet sparked fury among NFL fans, with ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III tweeting: ‘Damar Hamlin’s LIFE is on the line. He sticks his head out of your ass’
Bayless’s tweet sparked fury among NFL fans and former players, while ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III tweeted: ‘Damar Hamlin’s LIFE is on the line. He sticks his head out of your ass.
NBA star Isaiah Thomas tweeted: ‘I hope you get fired bro! For you to even THINK about the game is so sad.’
One fan tweeted: ‘A platform as big as yours and you choose to care about a game over someone’s life? You are one of the worst here. You should be ashamed.’
The backlash forced Bayless to apologize for questioning whether the game should be postponed.
Bayless tweeted Tuesday: ‘Nothing is more important than that young man’s health. 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 will continue to do so.’