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Skip Bayless slammed for ‘inhuman’ comments about having ‘no sympathy’ for Dak Prescott discussing depression

Bayless said on Thursday, September 10, "I don’t have sympathy for him going public with, ‘I got depressed’ and ‘I suffered depression early in COVID to the point that I couldn’t even go work out’"

A day after the Dallas Cowboys quarterback Rayne Dakota ‘Dak’ Prescott opened up about his older brother’s suicide and how he’s coped with it, Fox Sports host Skip Bayless said he had no sympathy for the NFL player. Bayless said on ‘Undisputed’ on Thursday, September 10, “I have deep compassion for clinical depression, but when it comes to the quarterback of an NFL team, you know this better than I do, it’s the ultimate leadership position in sports, am I right about that? You are commanding an entire franchise… And they’re all looking to you to be their CEO, to be in charge of the football team.”

Bayless added, “Because of all that, I don’t have sympathy for him going public with, ‘I got depressed’ and ‘I suffered depression early in COVID to the point that I couldn’t even go work out.’ Look, he’s the quarterback of America’s team.”

On Wednesday, Graham Bensinger published an interview with Prescott for ‘In Depth with Graham Bensinger’, where the quarterback revealed that his brother's cause of death was suicide. Prescott's brother, Jace, died on April 24. The 27-year-old said, “I mean, obviously tears and tears and tears. I mean, I sat there and tried to gather what had happened, and wanted to ask why for so many reasons. It was like this sense of all these emotions coming off of my back.”

In the same interview, his brother Tad Prescott broke down saying he believed he failed his brother and his late mother, who he promised that he would take care of his siblings. Jace was the primary caretaker of their mother, Peggy, while she had colon cancer up until her death in 2013. 

Speaking about his mental health, something he’s also done in the past, Dak said, “I got the help I needed, and I was very open about it... Emotions can overcome you if you don’t do something about it. Mental health is a huge issue and it’s a real thing in our world right now, especially the world we live in where everything is as viral and everyone is part of the media, I guess you can say and can get on social media and be overcome with emotions or be overcome with the thoughts of other people and allow that to fill into their heads when those things aren’t necessarily true, whether it’s getting likes on Instagram or something being viewed or being bullied or whatever it may be. All of those things can put thoughts into your head about yourself or about your situation in life that aren’t true. I think that it’s huge. I think it’s huge to talk, I think it’s huge to get help and it saves lives.”

Fans felt Bayless’ comments were highly insensitive. “Skip Bayless' disgusting criticism of Cowboys QB Dak Prescott for opening up about his depression began with him telling his @FS1 audience ‘Feel free to condemn me as cold-blooded and insensitive.’ Yeah, that's the least of it. Add horrifying and inhuman,” wrote sports journalist Ralph Vacchiano on Twitter.

Podcaster John Ellis wrote, “I have battled depression for my entire life, and it is a silent killer. Luckily, I’m still standing, but many don’t make it through. This is a woefully insensitive and horrible take by Skip Bayless.”

Journalist Mike Fisher wrote, “I’ve known the venomous @RealSkipBayless personally for 30 years. What’s he’s doing to @dak he’s done to countless others. I’ve spoken loudly about this; some of you never understood. But now I trust you know why I call him ‘The Human Hemmorhoid.’ Shame on you, Bayless.”

Footballer Dez Bryant wrote on Twitter, “I get on twitter to laugh joke & spit real-life s*** with people but I’m being very clear with you Skip Bayless... F*** YOU....I pray you never have to face mental illness or anything close to what people face with when they have mental health concerns.. you’ll fold like a b****.”

Radio host Shan Shariff wrote, “I always knew @RealSkipBayless was a highly-paid, fraudulent actor. But what you did today in calling out @dak's emotional honesty proves what a soulless, piece of s*** you are. You are human poison and your employers and followers should be ashamed. F*** U.”

Sports reporter Joseph Hoyt said, “What Skip Bayless said today is the reason why there’s a stigma about depression. It’s the reason why people are afraid to open up. Don’t listen to him. It takes so much strength to open up about depression like Dak Prescott did. It’s OK to not be OK. It’s OK to get help.”