Dallas

No Love Lost: Aikman Blasts Fox Hire of Skip Bayless

"To say I’m disappointed in the hiring of Skip Bayless would be an enormous understatement," Aikman said

Troy Aikman didn't hold back when Sports Illustrated asked him about his newest colleague at Fox Sports, Skip Bayless.

"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," Aikman told SI. "I believe success is achieved by acquiring and developing talented, respected and credible individuals, none of which applies to Skip Bayless."

Aikman, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who now serves as one of Fox Sports lead on-air personalities, has a messy history with Bayless, who arrives at Fox Sports after a long career at ESPN. In his book "Hell Bent," which chronicled the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s, Bayless made an unsubstantiated claim that Aikman was gay.

While he largely ignored the claim, in 2014 Aikman addressed the issue with SI. 

"I’m upset about it because it was made up and there was nothing accurate about anything that was insinuated. And he did it, as he does everything, just for attention. I am probably more upset because I probably should have responded to it at the time it was going on," Aikman said.

"The advice to me was, 'Hey, just don’t address it. It’s not worth it. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s ridiculous. All it’s going to do is have people continue to talk about his book.' So I didn’t. But I probably could have responded differently and maybe that would have changed things. Maybe it wouldn’t have. But it is ridiculous, and, yeah, it bothers me. If that is a lifestyle people choose, so be it. It doesn't affect me one way or another. But it is not my lifestyle."

Bayless' new Fox show, "Undisputed," premiered Sept. 6. 

Contact Us