Fans of Bill Simmons, the popular podcast host who who founded and runs The Ringer, know that he has created some terms that are unique to his show. Many of these date back to his days at ESPN, where he went from being a columnist to becoming a leading sports and pop culture personality.
Some of Simmons' unique theories pop back up from time to time on his Bill Simmons podcast podcast which generally airs three times a week on the Spotify (SPOT) -) owned The RInger. One of his most famous concepts, the "Ewing Theory" was created to explain how the New York Knicks performed after Patrick Ewing — its longtime star — left the team.
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"A star athlete that receives a large amount of media attention and fan interest — but, crucially, never leads his teams to any meaningful success — leaves their team. The team then exceeds expectations without the player," is how Ewing's alma mater, Georgetown University explains the theory.
Simmons actually credits the "Ewing Theory" to his friend, Dave Cirilli, but the "Podfather," is the one who made it famous. The creator of Grantland at ESPN and The Ringer has another concept that comes up from time to time on his show, "The Tyson Zone."
That's the idea that the actions of a person in real life have gotten so outrageous that people will believe any story about the person. It's an idea, of course, inspired by Mike Tyson back when the boxer often appeared in the news for his outrageous statements and actions (like getting a face tattoo), not his athletic prowess.
Over the years, very few people have been worthy of entering the "Tyson Zone." It is a dubious honor, of course.
But it is a distinction that Simmons, along with his guest "Plain English" host Derek Thompson, have bestowed upon embattled X (Twitter) owner and Tesla (TSLA) -) CEO Elon Musk during a Nov. 21 edition of his self-named podcast.
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Musk has 'tarnished his name'
Musk has seen more than half of X's (the former Twitter) advertisers leave the site.
"It seems like he's doing an Austin Powers/Dr. Evil bit,' Simmons said. "It almost doesn't seem real. I don't see the upside for him. He bought this company, which has lost 65% of its value. I think he has tarnished his name irrevocably."
A number of major advertisers, including Walt Disney (DIS) -), Apple (AAPL) -), Comcast (CMCSA) -) and IBM (IBM) -), paused their advertising on X after Musk posted on his own site in a way that appeared to endorse an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. Musk, a self-styled believer in unlimited free speech, also has said he plans to sue Media Matters, a media advocacy group, for covering the incident.
"I don't even really understand what he stands for or what his goals are. He just seems deranged," Simmons said.
Before Musk paid some $44 billion to buy Twitter in October 2022, Thompson said he considered Musk a genius whose political views he may not agree with. He credited him for advancing the electric vehicle industry and pushing man's ability to put items into space.
"What a smart guy, and I'm glad he's working on these problems," he said of pre-X Musk.
"You fast forward to today, and my view on Musk is that he's a deranged conspiracy theorist whose purchase of Twitter has allowed his freak flag to fly in plain view," Thompson added. "...It has destroyed his investment in this company and his reputation."
X, before Musk's "anti-Semitic engagement," had lost 65% of its advertising, according to Thompson.
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Musk enters the Tyson Zone
"I don't really understand it because I think he was definitely eccentric, and there were some things you could have picked at. But the guy from the last year doesn't really have a resemblance to the guy from the 2010s," Simmons said.
The host shared that it wasn't a question of politics but how Musk has chosen to present himself to the world.
"Him threatening to sue Media Matters just for reporting stuff. That's insane," he added, noting that Musk describes himself as a "free speech absolutist."
Simmons then brought up his creation of the "Tyson Zone" in the 2000s.
"As he (Mike Tyson) got weirder and weirder, I would have believed literally any story about him," he said.
That's where Musk, the richest person in the world, sits now, according to the podcast host.
"I think Elon is there. The 'Elon Zone' is in some ways even crazier than the 'Tyson Zone' because (if) somebody, let's say The Atlantic, wrote some feature about him (Musk) and said that one of the things we've learned is that he has 15 monkeys shipped to his house each week which he then drinks the blood out of their skulls because it gives him strength and virility. I'd be like 'I believe that.'"
Simmons shared that he truly can't think of a story he would not believe about Musk.
"The 'Elon Zone' is the 'Tyson Zone," except it matters," Thompson added.
"It affects billions and billions of people," Simmons responded. "...Who knows what he's capable of?"
