‘Take it down’: Skip Bayless faces music after ‘sick’ Damar Hamlin tweet

US sports commentator Skip Bayless is no stranger to controversy as he continues to be defiant after his tweet following Damar Hamlin’s collapse.

Things seemed tense on the “Undisputed” set on Wednesday.

Shannon Sharpe, who returned after missing Tuesday’s instalment of the Fox Sports 1 show, called out his co-host Skip Bayless over the tweet he posted when Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field during “Monday Night Football.”

Bayless came under fire during the Bills-Bengals game on Monday, when he tweeted concern over the Week 17 matchup being postponed as Hamlin received CPR from medical personnel in the first quarter.

“No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how?” Bayless tweeted at the time. “This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”

Sharpe opened Wednesday’s show explaining that the tragedy “struck [him] a little different,” before he blasted Bayless for his tweet about the situation. Meanwhile, Bayless appeared caught off guard as he implied that the hosts did not plan to discuss his Twitter controversy.

Unc Shannon sharpe was explaining why he wasn’t on undisputed yesterday & this man Skip bayless gonna interrupt him when Shannon tells him to take down the tweet of damar Hamlin 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/hQQK0njiQZ

— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY Account) (@shannonsharpeee) January 4, 2023

“There has been a lot of speculation of why I wasn’t on-air yesterday, and I won’t get into speculation or conjecture and innuendo, but I will say this: In watching that game on Monday night, what happened to Damar Hamlin struck me a little different,” Sharpe said. “As a brotherhood in the NFL, when injuries happen, and we know injuries are a part of the game … but I’ve never seen anybody have to be revived and fight for their life on the field.“… Skip tweeted something and although I disagree with the tweet, and hopefully Skip will take it down.”

Shannon Sharpe hit back at Skip Bayless. Photo: Twitter

Bayless then cut off his co-host.

“Time-out, I’m not going to take it down,” Bayless said. “I stand by what I tweeted.”

Sharpe then explained, “I cannot even get through a monologue without you interrupting me … I didn’t want yesterday to get into a situation where Damar Hamlin was the issue. We should’ve been talking about him and not getting into your tweet. That was what I wasn’t going to do, but you can’t even let me finish my open monologue.”

That’s when Bayless said, “I was under the impression you weren’t going to bring this up because no one had a problem with that tweet.”

Sharpe hit back, saying, “Clearly the bosses wanted you to offer explanation.”

Although Sharpe did not provide context, he seemingly referenced a moment from Tuesday’s “Undisputed” when Bayless said he was confronted by his boss at Fox about the tweet.

“My boss here at Fox called and said, ‘Hey, people are really reacting strongly to your tweet. Maybe you should clarify.’ Which I immediately did,” Bayless said, per Front Office Sports.

After the heated moment Wednesday, Sharpe and Bayless moved on with the show and discussed LeBron James.

Bayless received backlash from NFL players and other pro athletes — some of whom called for him to be fired — over his initial tweet during the Bengals-Bills game.

ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins wrote, “You’re a sick individual. Real Talk.”

The former ESPN host apologised in a separate tweet Monday night, writing, “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.”

Players were in tears. Photo by Dylan Buell / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

Vigils have been set up by fans. Photo by Jeff Dean / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

Bayless then offered an apology on Tuesday’s “Undisputed.”

Hamlin remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center as of Wednesday morning, Hamlin’s marketing representative Jordon Rooney told ESPN’s Coley Harvey. Rooney said Hamlin’s doctors got “promising readings” and that he appears to be making progress.

The second-year safety suffered cardiac arrest on the field and collapsed after a tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins during the first quarter of Monday’s matchup.

The game was postponed, with the NFL announcing Tuesday that it will not resume this week.

This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.