Nick Wright and Richard Deitsch Went At It About Skip Bayless
Skip Bayless’s official entry into the Fox Sports family took place today, when he announced that his “handcuffs” were coming off. SI media reporter Richard Deitsch has long been a not-fan of Bayless’s work, and he greeted the announcement with snark, noting that Fox’s release touted Bayless as an “award-winning journalist,” congratulating Jamie Horowitz for getting his name in the press release, and adding:
I honestly admire the spin here by @FOXSportsPR with Bayless. It's fun to watch. Also, they are not as evil as FNC PR so I enjoy them.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
After a fourth tweet, FS1 personality Nick Wright took the bait:
I'm tweeting out my article about it, with a political tease/pipe dream, 5x while plugging our revamped website. Sound good?
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
There was a brief response, but nothing serious:
I knew that tweet had just enough snark to get you to break from "Skip tweets only" replies. Week's off to a great start.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
After a several-hour interlude, Deitsch re-engaged
This awful dude does in his world what Bayless does in ours. Content different; goals the same. You know this too.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
After this, it gets kind of muddy to follow the chronology, so we’re just gonna share all of Wright’s tweets followed by all of Deitsch’s:
this is my view right now but I'm so put off by what you just wrote that I'm going to stop & respond pic.twitter.com/7AL7HWZSTu
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
1- I reject the notion that Bill's world & my world are separate. What he's talking about touches us all.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
2- Bill's "goal" is to defame an American hero, and tilt a critical election. So, no, the "goals" aren't the same.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
3- I worry you're going to look back on this vendetta and wonder where you lost your true north, b/c this is outrageous...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
... There's a popular morning show in Boston where the host is openly racist. Not a peep from you...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
... There's leading sports personalities who go out of their way to dog whistle themselves into the conversation...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
... There's studio hosts who are such corporate shills that the viewer is deprived of any possibility of critical thought...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
... And then there's your favorite punching bag, Skip, who thinks LeBron is overrated & loved Tebow...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
... And you compare him to a charlatan denigrating a war hero for personal gain? I mean, think about that. It's absurd...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
... You say "misogyny & race baiting" are his calling card. Show me that. And calling card to whom but you?...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
... Plenty of people don't like Skip because of LeBron or Tebow, but I must've missed the race baiting and misogyny...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
... If you have evidence, present it. Otherwise, what is going on here? You don't like his style of TV. Fine. That's cool...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
... Thankfully for you there's a dozen different options. But the marketplace has spoken here, so maybe that's your beef...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
... But it's the same marketplace that allows your employer to run your stuff with swimsuit edition money, so there is that.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
4- You know I generally like your stuff, but you also know this: You to Skip *is* Skip to LeBron. And that hasn't changed...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
You get your most reaction when you talk about him, it's the same note every time, and now you've compared him to a traitor.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
A real traitor. Not metaphorical, a real one. That's fine if it's what you want to do. But I can't abide it.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
5- You can call this all corporate shilling, but I promise it isn't. I have colleagues I absolutely won't defend...
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
... I even have a colleague that my pinned tweet is a direct response to. But this has gotten over the top, so here we are.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 1, 2016
And now Deitsch:
First, stop tweeting at the beach. Misogyny and race-baiting are your new colleague's calling card. It's not for debate.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
More importantly, super cute kids.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
Agreed. I'm taking shows that are primarily sports based content vs. politically-oriented content.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
His goals are to be a provocateur through agenda driven commentary. That is Skip Bayless.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
You must have missed the podcast where I interviewed his producer and asked about the show's history with race.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
That you call it a vendetta now that you are at FS1 means you might be lost on all this. I hope not. I wish the best for you.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
You are spinning with false equivalence and you devalue Bayless's misgogony and outing people's sexuality.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
Nick, I'm going walk away here. It's all a Google search away, written by many, time and again.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
Incorrect on all. Said his goal is same/content is different. Top traffic'd piece every year is awards piece. No Skip there.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
But this is a circle now. Probably good for the soul to walk away.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 1, 2016
Presumably, this will be continued at a later date.