After Buffalo Bills‘ safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field against the Cincinnati Bengals around 8:55 p.m. Eastern on Monday, a lot happened. Hamlin reportedly received CPR and other medical attention on the field for 10 minutes, then was taken to hospital, where reports had him in critical condition. That Monday Night Football game was eventually suspended for the night around 10 p.m. Eastern, but not before a lot of takes on if it should be suspended.
Most of those takes were on the side of “Yes,” but Fox’s Skip Bayless came up with an alternate one:
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
If Bayless (seen above on Undisputed in 2017) eventually deletes that tweet, it read “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.” “Crucial to the regular-season outcome” is really quite a phrasing there. And that’s also preserved here.
An all-time terrible tweet from @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/0sk9ohP0qP
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 3, 2023
Bayless’ tweet took a lot of criticism from a lot of prominent people. Perhaps one of the most significant criticisms given Bayless’ employment at Fox was from former Fox Sports executive producer Scott Ackerson (who retired from that company after two decades in 2014):
You’ve actually created the worst take ever.
A man could be dead you f$&king POS.
You actually make me f$&king embarrassed that I helped start the network that pays you millions of f$&king dollars.
You truly are a worthless POS.
What in the actual f$&k are you thinking?— Axe (@scottaxe) January 3, 2023
Beyond that, though, Bayless got lit up in strong terms by many prominent former athletes, including Kendrick Perkins, Darrelle Revis, Isaiah Thomas, and Jacob Hester:
You’re a sick individual. Real Talk.
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 3, 2023
all u care about is football when damar hamlin’s life is at risk. coming from u i expected more. this tweet is not. u of all people should know better bro.
— Darrelle Revis (@Revis24) January 3, 2023
I hope they fire you bro!!! For you to even THINK of the game is very sad.
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) January 3, 2023
Christ… what is wrong with you? How in the hell can you put something like this out there? A man’s life is at risk. Nobody gives a damn about playoff seeds and standings right now. Read the room, and have a heart man.
— Jacob Hester (@JacobHester18) January 3, 2023
Meanwhile, Bayless’ Undisputed co-host Shannon Sharpe had a rather different take:
Please keep Demar Hamlin and his family in your thoughts and prayers. NFL doesn’t have a manual on how to proceed after an incident like this. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾#MondayNightFootball #BillsVsBengals
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) January 3, 2023
Bayless did eventually offer a clarification, 52 minutes after his first tweet:
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
As of 10:30 p.m. Eastern, an hour after it was sent, Bayless’ original tweet was still posted. At that point, it had received more than 52 million views, 58,000 quote tweets, 26,000 likes, and 2,450 retweets.
[Skip Bayless on Twitter]
