My reaction to this entire situation…….
This is part Skip Bayless’ feelings being hurt and part ESPN capitalizing on people caring more about drama than sports. If you recall this is how it all started………
Jalen then goes on 1st Take and calls Skip Bayless “Water Pistol Pete Jr.” which led to a 2 hour debate the next day where Skip moonwalked and blamed bloggers for lies (even though article was factual stats), Stephen A. screamed a lot and Jalen kept his cool.
For full disclosure I haven’t watched 1st Take since, but to my understanding it has been a continuing topic with Skip defending himself, Stephen A. Smith screaming and athletes going in on journalists.
By the way no bloggers have been invited on the show and considering that is what started everything that seems unfair, but I digress.
Steelers safety Ryan Clark was on the show the other day, I didn’t watch, but I heard he made a lot of strong comments some directed at Stephen A. Smith (one funny one about his hairline). Smith came on the show today and told Ryan he could kiss “you know what”.
Ryan didn’t take to kindly to that.
For a long period of time athletes didn’t have a lot of avenues to challenge reporters, journalists, bloggers or anyone who had negative things to say about them.
Who were they going to tell? Couldn’t tell the journalists because they were the ones writing the stories and could slant the quotes any way the wanted to.
But, now with the boom of social media and more athletes being given an opportunity to speak out, they can now attack their accusers.
People in the media don’t like that.
A lot of media members are as sensitive and insecure as the players. Jalen Rose hurt Skip Bayless’ feelings and that is the crux of all of this.
Skip can go in on Lebron or ARod and tell them to man up, but when someone went in on him on a personal level, his heart was broken.
That was his face right after Jalen called him Water Pistol Pete Jr. Can’t fake that hurt. As I said before you can’t be Nelson Muntz and start crying when you get Millhoused.
The whole thing has a WWE feel to it and it works for ESPN and 1st Take. Ratings don’t lie and people are watching for the same reasons they watch Basketball Wives or Jersey Shore.
When it comes time for Stephen A. to confront Clark it will be a big production and we will all watch, because drama trumps sports.
Skip and Stephen A are basically……..
OH YOU DIDN’T KNOW……..