Full-time media critic Draymond Green is now fully embracing Stephen A. Smith into his “new media” fraternity, while continuing to chastise Skip Bayless as his enemy number one.
Green and JJ Redick combined their podcasts for a live show from City Winery in New York earlier this week. During The Draymond Green Show/Old Man and the Three combo meal, the Golden State Warriors forward took time to call out his favorite target, which is fair game, Bayless often welcomes the hate. But in doing so, Green was factually inaccurate.
“My favorite f*ck you…since the parade in all of this is Skip Bayless,” Green said, drawing a big applause from the live audience. “Everybody agree? Like, f*ckin guy sucks!”
During his first podcast episode of the offseason, Green ranted about Skip Bayless, Nick Wright and Kendrick Perkins, slamming their media prowess and ability to cover the NBA.
“To absolutely destroy Skip Bayless, I never see the rebuttal, but I’m sure he was as sh*tty as he was when Stephen A. just crushed him last week,” Green continued. “He looked like he was about to cry when he was responding to Stephen A!”
Green was referring to Bayless feeling betrayed by Smith for claiming he was recruited to First Take in 2012 to essentially save the show. Bayless called Smith’s recount of how he arrived on First Take “recklessly inaccurate” and did seem on the verge of tears in his response. Smith and Bayless have since cleared the air following their Father’s Day meetup by Skip’s pool, but during his live show with Redick, Green seemed determined to fuel their feud.
“The reality is, the reason you should believe Stephen A, number one, he’s a real guy. And I’m not just saying it cause that’s my guy, but Shannon (Sharpe) actually saved [Bayless] when he went to the next network! So when Stephen A. comes out and says ‘No, the show was suffering, and I came on and saved it,’ you’d be a fool not to believe that, because the show was suffering and Shannon came on and saved it.”
I enjoy seeing athletes call Bayless out when he’s wrong or offers a ridiculous hot take, but I’m forced to defend him here because what Green said was recklessly inaccurate. Shannon Sharpe did not save Bayless, he joined him on Undisputed and has been part of the show since its inception Sept. 6, 2016.
Green’s statement implies Bayless was hosting Undisputed without Sharpe and needed the football Hall-of-Famer to help him save the show. Bayless left ESPN for Fox Sports in the spring of 2016 and he paired with Sharpe to launch their answer to First Take that September. There was no Fox Sports show for Bayless without Sharpe.
If Green is going to continue pushing his new media vs. old media narrative, getting the facts straight would seem central to his crusade. In the same week that Nick Wright called Green out for misquoting him, the Warriors forward made a false statement about Bayless. Not exactly a great selling point for the “new media.”
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com