By now, we all know what it is when it comes to Skip Bayless. The dude will say just about anything as long as it gets people watching his show, which includes trashing his own co-workers.
So it’s no surprise that pulled a joke from Giannis Antetokounmpo’s appearance on The Daily Show with Hasan Minhaj and unnecessarily tried to turn it into so much more than that.
You’ve probably seen the clip floating around the internet over the last day. It’s Antetkounmpo throwing a playful and unserious jab at Kevin Durant, who was set to make his debut for the Phoenix Suns soon after the recording.
Giannis said “how about we work out together sometime so I can teach you how to carry your own team.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo takes a shot at Kevin Durant. 🤣
(🎥: @TheDailyShow) pic.twitter.com/d8ZYeZNK0z
— theScore (@theScore) February 28, 2023
It was absolutely hilarious and very clearly a joke. The dude even praised Durant immediately after as part of the bit.
That didn’t stop talking head types like Bayless and his co-host, Shannon Sharpe, from clipping the comment and digging in on it without any context.
Here’s the thing, though. Antetkounmpo was actually on the show to promote the Charles Antetkounmpo Family Foundation — a charity created in the name of Giannis’ late father. So, clearly, it meant a lot for him to be on the show. The jokes were really just a bonus.
So when Antetkounmpo was getting ripped for making a few jokes, Minhaj wasn’t having it. He addressed it on the very next show.
Skip Bayless's misrepresenation of Giannis's "roast" of Kevin Durant reminds @hasanminhaj of everything he hates about the media. #AfterTheCut pic.twitter.com/338hCoNVFy
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 2, 2023
Minhaj essentially pointed out why Bayless and folks like him are the worst part of the media.
“That’s the vexxing thing I hate about being part of the media. It’s this [explective] clickbait, Instagram Reels, TikTok media grift. If I just snip out the right amount, oh baby, I can ride the wave…And the [explitive] part is, Skip is perpetuating the very reason why professional athletes don’t go on these shows. They’ve created a dynamic where you’ve got to go full Darth Maul in order to be an athlete that does media. ”
Minhaj has a point here. Athletes who do make media appearances have to be careful with their words, or else they’ll be parsed like Giannis’ jokes above and used as fodder for the next day’s media cycle. That’s why, whenever athletes do speak, it tends to be so bland.
But if you’re an athlete who does do media, you’ve got to have the most scorching hot take for anyone to pay attention to you. Kendrick Perkins, for example, argued on Wednesday that part of the reason Nikola Jokic might be the NBA’s current favorite for MVP is that he’s white — not because he’s the best player on the top seed in the West while averaging a 25-point triple-double.
So, yeah, Minhaj definitely has a point. But he also issued a challenge to Skip Bayless.
“I think … if Skip really cares about the athlete and the sport, then I think if he’s going to benefit off the grift then he should make a donation to the Charles Antetkounmpo family foundation. You’ve got to cleanse those pockets, baby.”
Sounds good to me. Pay up, Skip. It’s the least you could do after making such a mockery of what should’ve just been a fun highlight of the NBA season.
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