Fox Sports commentator Skip Bayless issued an on-air apology on Tuesday morning after getting roundly hammered for a seemingly insensitive tweet about Damar Hamlin, who collapsed on the field during Monday Night Football last night. The defensive back for the Buffalo Bills suffered cardiac arrest and is still listed in critical condition as of this writing. Immediately following his collapse and removal from the field by ambulance, there was speculation about whether or not the NFL would postpone the game, and that’s when Bayless stepped in it with a poorly worded tweet.
“No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how?” Bayless wrote before the decision was made. “This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”
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.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 3, 2023
After being widely dragged, Bayless attempted to clarify his tweet later that night and put the emphasis on Hamlin’s health.
“Nothing is more important than that young man’s health,” Bayless said. “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.”
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.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 3, 2023
With the controversy over his tweet in the air, Bayless issued an apology on Tuesday morning where he noticeably hosted Undisputed without co-host Shannon Sharpe, who we presume called in “sick.” At the top of the show, an emotional Bayless addressed the bad optics of attempting to discuss sports during a “life or death” situation and emphasized that he feels “wrecked” over the whole thing.
Skip Bayless is without Shannon Sharpe for Undisputed today.
He attempted to apologize for the discussion surrounding Damar Hamlin last night and on today’s show. pic.twitter.com/MTg7w0gafx
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) January 3, 2023
Allow me to say upfront that I apologize for what we’re going to set out to do here today if it offends anyone because we’re going to try to do the show pretty much as we usually do the show. But I’ll admit upfront I’m still shook up by what happened last night to Damar Hamlin. In fact, I’m still wrecked. In fact, I’m not sure I’m capable of doing this show today. But after barely sleeping on it, I decided to give it a try. Maybe I’ll fail. Maybe we will fail, but we’re going to try. We wrestled 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.
After the intro, Bayless then encouraged viewers to share their “emotions of the night” on Twitter, which he promised to read during this “difficult morning for all of us.”