Skip Bayless might be the only San Antonio Spurs fan who doesn’t have unwavering love for their five-time NBA champion head coach Gregg Popovich.
“I’ve been honest about this, I’ve never been the biggest Pop fan,” Bayless admitted Friday morning on Undisputed. “Just because he can be such a bully with the media and it really rubbed me the wrong way. I just never understood, it was beneath him to do that.”
Skip Bayless never liked media "bully" Gregg Popovich pic.twitter.com/YTYqUC8apx
— Brandon Contes (@BrandonContes) April 1, 2022
I don’t think anyone categorizes Popovich as a bad guy, he just has zero tolerance for the media. Popovich detests in-game interviews, often attempting to end them as fast as possible while simultaneously making the courtside reporter’s job that much harder.
ESPN analyst Doris Burke once acknowledged she was almost in tears after conducting what is infamously known as the “turnovers” interview with Popovich. But the Spurs coach is equally crass when it comes to postgame press conferences, questioning reporters basketball acumen or telling them to “be quiet.”
Popovich is even worse than Bill Belichick. Belichick snubs the media, Popovich insults them. He doesn’t just evade the question, he attempts to embarrass the reporter. Amazingly, Popovich has somehow managed to ingratiate himself with many reporters through his tendency to insult the media. Reporters excuse it as ‘Pop being Pop,’ but Bayless refused to fall for his schtick.
“They think he’s like a lovable curmudgeon ‘oh that’s lovable,’ it is? He just is brazen with the media, he just insults people!” Bayless ranted. “He talks down to people.”
But is Bayless the one who should be calling Popovich out for his treatment of others?
Bayless might support most of his media peers, but the Fox Sports host has made a living off notoriously insulting professional athletes. See Bayless mocking Russell Westbrook as “Westbrick,” LeBron James as “Drama King” or Chris Bosh as “Bosh Spice.”
A name-caller calling out a pomposity.
