Just going to be blunt with this because there is no need to dance around this or even pretend to put some type of nuance behind this. Skip Bayless is an asshole. Bayless had this to say about Dak Prescott and his battle with depression earlier this year.
Bayless starts off by saying that if people want to condemn him if they choose as “cold-blooded and insensitive” and that he claims that he has “deep compassion for clinical depression”. Well I’m going to take this further than that, you are a complete asshole that has a platform that is used only for controversial takes, sometimes that are contrarian for contrarians sake and do not deserve it. Condemning enough?
Back to the issue at hand here. Skip Bayless is saying that because Dak Prescott was depressed and was public about it that he is somehow incapable of leading “America’s Team”. As if battling depression at any point in time and having it known makes it impossible to play quarterback in Dallas. Fuck that. This is the out of date mentality and way of thinking that needs to go away forever. Like it or not athletes are people too, capable of feeling things and having independent thoughts. They are not robots programmed only to play a game for our enjoyment. Athletes have to deal with same highs and lows of everyday life just like everyone else, their financial situation being different does not negate that fact.
It takes a lot of courage to make a battle with depression battle public. Mental health is something that has to be taken seriously and not be discarded as an inconvenience to us the fan. It is statements like those made by Skip Bayless which make athletes hesitant to come forward in regards to mental health issues. If the average person has difficulties dealing with depression and seeking help how can we expect a public figure to not feel the same when there is people like Bayless on television spouting nonsense?
What happened with Bayless is not part of a television show. This was not Skip playing the character he usually plays on Undisputed or his ridiculously awful twitter feed. It was someone showing their true colors and that they have absolutely no compassion for others. Skip can take this way of thinking and shove it right up his ass because there is no place for it in our society.
If anyone had any other perception or idea of just who Skip Bayless is, let today be a reminder that he is an asshole and nothing more.
