Skip Bayless is moving from ESPN to Fox Sports, bringing with him that charm and intelligence that has made him a desirable personality and millionaire many times over. One of Bayless’ calling cards over the years was burying LeBron James when there was no reason. After a triple-double in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Skip was at it again.
The Spurs would've beaten these Cavs.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 20, 2016
How can Kyrie Irving not be Finals MVP after his last four games?
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 20, 2016
Kyrie last 5 games: 30 in win, 34 as LeBron disappeared, 41 in win, 23 in win (tone-setting 20 in 1st half), 26 & game-winner in Game 7. MVP
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 20, 2016
Bayless is a man firing a gun that has long since run out of bullets. But with him joining Fox Sports, his ESPN colleagues current and present seem to be no longer holding back.
Current ESPN employee Scott Van Pelt had this to say without actually naming Bayless: “It is time to find a new axe to grind if you have made your living ripping him. Find a new act.”
Since SVP doesn’t actually name Bayless, this is at best a subtweet on TV. And really, considering what Bayless is getting from Fox, “Find a new act” isn’t going to cause him to lose sleep at night.
SVP wasn’t alone in going after Bayless in the wake of LeBron James’ historic Finals performance, as the Twitter burns were overflowing last night.
Bye, Felicia https://t.co/qpeK5LcRpw
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) June 20, 2016
This is like when a guy that’s part of a wrestling heel tag team turns on his partner. It’s satisfying for a minute before you realize Danny Kanell made you happy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that.
https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/744726841223745536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The sick ellipsis burn from ESPN’s Keith Law. Damn!
Vintage. Smh. Enough. https://t.co/aEcAlJKusu
— Dana Jacobson (@danajacobson) June 20, 2016
Enough! Yeah!
I find it humorous & vintage him. Chill https://t.co/zNknspnSMu
— Dana Jacobson (@danajacobson) June 20, 2016
Wait, never mind. Former ESPN colleague Dana Jacobson is not being critical.
So really, is anyone truly taking a stand against Skip here?
- SVP sort of is but doesn’t ever call out Skip by name, so it affords him plausible deniability if an ESPN higher-up gets upset.
- Kanell is strong here but he would probably just claim he was hacked or his turtleneck sent the tweet without his knowledge.
- An ellipsis is weak if Law has something to say, and he usually does.
ESPN must pay great money if you can’t muster a direct criticism at someone as loathed as Bayless who is out the door anyway.
Won’t someone offer a hot, pointed shot at Bayless about his years of LeBron trolling? Won’t someone be the hero we need?
And the best part: @KingJames ends @RealSkipBayless career at ESPN that he built by trolling on him by shutting him the F up.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) June 20, 2016
Bless you, Rich Eisen. Bless you.