Recent comments made by Tom Brady in support of LeBron James don’t sit well with Skip Bayless.
On Saturday, Bayless released a video for The Skip Bayless Show where he was critical of LeBron James. A lot of the criticism was around LeBron’s comments criticizing ring culture, something that, to be fair, others have labeled as hypocritical on James’ end. But quickly into the video, Bayless turned his criticism towards Brady.
“Tell me I’m wrong about this,” Bayless said. “LeBron James just can’t help himself. He, just can’t hide his runaway insecurity. Over knowing deep, deep down that he will never ever be seen as the greatest basketball player ever, by those who really know the game, by anyone who really matters. And yeah, I know that over the weekend Tom Brady called LeBron James the greatest ever while sitting up on stage with LeBron at the Fanatics Fest in New York City. What a sellout Tom Brady has become post-football off the field, and he was undoubtedly the greatest football player ever on the field.”
Bayless continued his criticism.
“All-time great clutch competitor, Tom Brady, but man, when it comes to maximizing his money, Tom Brady will say and do whatever is required to polish his good guy image. He loves everybody and everybody loves Tom Brady. And he even kissed LeBron’s ass in front of LeBron because he knows how many billions of followers, how many fans LeBron has, and what a powerful financial alliance he could form with the King post football, probably post basketball for LeBron.
“So, Tom Brady rather pathetically said of LeBron in front of LeBron to the fanatics fest crowd, the live audience, and here’s the quote. ‘He’s always done things the right way. He’s always risen above the noise and the BS and continued to deliver. So you’re witnessing the greatest ever, and I hope you guys appreciate that,’ said Tom of LeBron. By the way, you’re watching or listening to the Skip Bayless show brought to you by FanDuel, America’s number one sports book, and I hope you appreciate that.”
Bayless then compared Brady’s championship record favorably to LeBron’s. He noted that Brady was 7-3 in Super Bowls, while LeBron was 4-6 in the NBA Finals, adding that were it not for Ray Allen’s shot in 2013, LeBron would have a “reverse Brady.” And of course, Bayless also detailed Michael Jordan’s record of 6-0 in the NBA Finals, with six MVPs.
We can, of course, dissect the records of Tom Brady, Michael Jordan and LeBron James. It would not be hard to say that any of them should have more rings. Similarly, it would be just as easy to argue that any of the three should have less. It’s the nature of the beast when we’re talking about athletes, especially in team sports.
Certainly, Bayless has been a vocal critic of James’ throughout his career. So, perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising to hear Bayless criticize Brady for having the audacity to praise James at Fanatics Fest.
But while not surprising, it may be an example of Bayless trying a little too hard. Then again, we’ve seen more extreme examples.