Skip Bayless on The Skip Bayless Show Photo credit: The Skip Bayless Show
FoxNFLBy Andrew Bucholtz on

Fox Sports personality Skip Bayless has some wells he regularly goes to, such as criticism of LeBron James (although that may be changing!), praise for Michael Jordan, and discussion of the Dallas Cowboys. There’s one particular Bayless take that he’s been repeating for decades that’s even further outside of the sports mainstream and the way sports actually work, though, and that’s getting rid of field goals in football. Bayless brought this up Saturday night after Ohio State’s field goal miss to end the Peach Bowl, and did so in all-caps:

“I’LL SAY IT AGAIN: I HATE PLACE-KICKING AND THE PREPOSTEROUS ROLE IT PLAYS IN WINNING AND LOSING HUGE FOOTBALL GAMES. NONFOOTBALL PLAYERS OFTEN DECIDE THE BIGGEST FOOTBALL GAMES. PLACE-KICKING SHOULD BE ABOLISHED,” Bayless wrote. And he is in fact saying it again. And again. Way back in September 2005, Bayless wrote a 1,225 column for ESPN’s Page 2 (RIP) titled “Football isn’t just for kicks,” and he outlined there that he had long wanted to abolish kicking. Some highlights from that:

Not that I truly wish harm on any of the football subspecies known as place-kickers, but what player or coach or fan hasn’t wanted to strangle one of these wimpy wackos?

…For a long time, I’ve wanted to eliminate place kicking altogether.

I’m not in the least bit kidding. I say kick kickers out of football. They’re the only flaw in my favorite game.

But what an incomprehensible flaw this is.

Giant, gifted men battle their guts out playing a violent game, and the outcome is all too often decided by some former soccer player who has absolutely nothing to do with football. No football talent. No football heart. No football mind.

This led to an incredible back-and-forth with readers in a chat, which AA’s Brian Powell recapped here. Some highlights:

Tim (Boston): Skip, C’mon this is a little ridiculous. I am pretty tired of you trying to stir the pot. Talk about something relevant. They must have been desperate on the Show today.

Skip Bayless: I’m also sick of idiotic readers who claim I’m just trying to “stir the pot.” I’ve said and written this for years, and I’m right about it. But as I also wrote, if you’re from Boston, as this guy is, you don’t want to hear this because you have the greatest clutch kicker ever in Vinatieri — who’s the best of the worst aspect of any team sport.

Kevin (Havertown, PA): So punting would be OK, but place-kicking would not ? So now special teams are only used for part of the game, not all ? That’s like saying the DH hits in innings 1-5 and the pitcher bats the 6th through the 9th Skip. Not consistent = bad. You’d also take away every Patriots’ Super Bowl win and 40% of their overall victories the last 4 years. Overall, not a good idea.

Skip Bayless: Punting and kicking off don’t impact the scoreboard. They’re essential aspects of field position and punting, as I wrote, requires more athletic ability and skill and football IQ. Remember, DHs are still hitting and relief pitchers are still pitching.

…James (Westfield, NJ): Skip, a quick question. How long were you in the hospital after that horse kicked you in the head when you were a kid?

Skip Bayless: P.T. Barnum was right.

This came up again in a 2006 chat:

david (lubbock, tx): this morning you call viniteria the No. 1 free agent this off season. Did you say kickers (especially Jay Feeley) were useless?

Skip Bayless: I can’t get this concept through Woody’s sometimes thick head. I don’t hate kickers, I hate kicking. The rules of football make them far too valuable in determining the outcomes of games. But the rules haven’t changed, so if I’m the Patriots, I pay Vinatieri “star” money. I applaud the Colts’ Bill Polian for breaking the unwritten rule among owners that kickers shouldn’t be paid much. This is the greatest clutch kicker ever, and as much as I hate kicking, I’d want him on my team, because he will be allowed to win two or three games a year. Maybe more, in this guy’s case. Great move for Indy. Whoops, there I go being positive.

And this has been a recurring theme on Bayless’ Twitter account in the last decade. Some examples:

That 2016 rant, which came after a 6-6 tie between the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks (with both teams missing potentially game-winning field goals in overtime), drew an incredible response from Bayless’ former ESPN colleague Bob Valvano:

Regardless where one stands on Bayless as “an embarrassment to sports talk,” it is clear he’s been pushing these takes on abolishing kicking for at least 18 years (and even there, he wrote that he’d held that opinion “for a long time”). And he’s stuck with this take despite next to no support for his position, despite zero indication that any high level of football would ever consider this, and despite repeated roastings of his take from players, media, and fans. Whether that’s Bayless showing perseverance or being muleheaded may be in the eye of the beholder, but it is nice that he’s at least consistent on this front.

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

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