Troy Aikman Comments on Fox Sports Hiring Skip Bayless | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who works as a Fox Sports football analyst, expressed disappointment last week in the outlet's decision to hire outspoken commentator Skip Bayless.
Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated passed along the three-time Super Bowl champion's comments about working under the same umbrella as Bayless on Tuesday, and he didn't hold back:
To say I'm disappointed in the hiring of Skip Bayless would be an enormous understatement. Clearly, [Fox Sports president of national networks] Jamie Horowitz and I have a difference of opinion when it comes to building a successful organization. I believe success is achieved by acquiring and developing talented, respected and credible individuals, none of which applies to Skip Bayless.
Aikman previously made his strong opposition to the former First Take star known in a conversation with Deitsch in January 2015. The 49-year-old longtime face of the Cowboys stated at the time he was still angry after Bayless said the QB was gay in the 1996 book Hell-Bent.
"I'm upset about it because it was made up, and there was nothing accurate about anything that was insinuated," he said. "And he did it, as he does everything, just for attention."
The Sports Illustrated report also noted some Fox Sports staffers see the decision to hire Bayless despite already employing Aikman as "a public slap in the face of one of Fox's best talents."
Meanwhile, Horowitz has pushed hard for the idea of debate-style programs during his time at both ESPN and now Fox Sports. The 64-year-old Bayless has become the central figure in that realm of sports coverage, as evidenced by his more than 2.1 million Twitter followers.
As the opinion-based shows take center stage during the day, ratings for ESPN's SportsCenter are down 6 percent in 2016, according to Sports TV Ratings.
Horowitz explained his philosophy, which also features other polarizing media stars such as Colin Cowherd and Jason Whitlock, to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times in May: "We're making big bets on three types of programming: live events, pre- and postgame programming and opinion-based programming. And we're making an equally big bet against traditional news and information shows."
The latest step in the overhaul of Fox Sports 1 started Tuesday with the debut of Undisputed, the new show featuring Bayless, Shannon Sharpe and Joy Taylor. The show carries a similar feel to that of First Take, which continues on ESPN2 with Max Kellerman filling the void opposite Stephen A. Smith.
