There is a memorable line from the movie Seven when Kevin Spacey’s character says, “I’ve gone and done it again”. That line also applies to FS1’s Skip Bayless. The TV personality recently did what he does best; he started another fire.
When the Los Angeles Lakers drafted Max Christie in the 2nd round last Thursday, Bayless tweeted that the Michigan State product only shot 32% from three last season. Bayless sarcastically pointed out that Christie will fit in with Russell Westbrook, although he referred to Westbrook by a different name – Westbrick.
Oh boy, buckle up. Since then it’s been reaction city. Westbrook’s wife, Nina, described Bayless’ name-calling as disheartening and hurtful. Westbrook himself had a few things to say as well.
Bayless, who’s never one to let a good marketing opportunity go to waste, decided to call out — clears throat, I mean invite — Westbrook to join him for a further discussion.
The well hasn’t run dry yet. Others have reacted like Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green who entered the chat on Monday by engaging in a war of words with Bayless.
On a side note, it’s strange that Draymond is commenting on the Bayless-Westbrook soap opera because he was recently preaching that if you know basketball, the sport itself will provide plenty of talking points to discuss. Hmm, doesn’t seem very “New Media” of him. I digress.
FOX Sports Radio’s Doug Gottlieb weighed in on The Sports Talkers Podcast. Gottlieb said he thinks calling people names is embarrassing to the profession. Eddie Johnson, who does a great job on SiriusXM NBA Radio and as the Phoenix Suns color analyst, doesn’t oppose name-calling like Gottlieb. Johnson certainly had a candid opinion on Bayless though.
So, what the heck does all of this have to do with anything? There are a couple of important lessons to learn from all of this hoopla. What do all of these people — Westbrook, Westbrook’s wife, Draymond Green, Doug Gottlieb and Eddie Johnson — have in common? They’re all reacting to Bayless. That’s exactly what he wants.
Bayless didn’t accidentally step into this mess; he created it by design. He knew he’d touch a nerve by referring to Westbrook as Westbrick. The worst thing you could do to Bayless is ignore him. But by firing off tweets and uploading responses on podcasts, that’s exactly what he was after the whole time.
It begs the next question; why would he want all of this drama?
When it comes to sports radio hosts or TV commentators like Bayless and Stephen A. Smith, what is their job? What’s required? What’s expected of them?
To cut through. To get a reaction.
Sure, there are many other skills that great hosts possess: an ability to be entertaining, authentic, relatable or thought-provoking. But if you think about it, all of those skills really just help a host cut through all of the clutter and competition.
That’s exactly what Bayless is doing; he’s cutting through. Granted, he’s using a different approach. And you might not like or respect that approach, but it’s working.
Just look at the Bayless checklist:
Cut through. Check.
Get reaction from fans/media. Check.
Get reaction from Westbrook. Check.
Promote your TV show in the process. Check.
Bayless is checking boxes one after another. He’s like Teddy KGB from the movie Rounders; check, check, check.
Now, this is important, although it might sound like I’m encouraging every host that’s behind a microphone to rush out and call athletes a bunch of names, that isn’t what I’m suggesting. I’m saying instead of criticizing a tactic that’s working, it makes way more sense to find a different approach that works as effectively.
Sure, it’s low-hanging fruit to call an athlete a name like Westbrick. Maybe that isn’t a strategy you respect or what you’d like to be known for in the business. That’s great. Really, it is, but what is the approach you’re going to take that works as well as Bayless’ name-calling tactic?
These people that get all high and mighty as if to say, “Eww, yuck, I would never do that. It’s appalling to resort to that unwashed method”. As if name-calling is the sports radio version of eating your dinner off the floor. Like, “You have to resort to that?”
My dad always used to say, “We’re burnin’ daylight here”. Hey, he grew up on a farm. It was his way of saying we were wasting time. That’s how I feel about the media’s reaction to Bayless. We’re wasting time arguing about stupid stuff instead of trying to find a better way.
The funny twist is that many of the reactions to Bayless’ name-calling have something in common; I call them low-hanging-fruit responses. Some fight fire with fire and blast Bayless for his approach. Others do the exact same thing as Bayless and call him names like Skeletor. That isn’t being better than him, it’s being the same.
Those people are like fish that took the bait and don’t even know it. Their comments also show that they’re invested in Bayless. They care, otherwise they wouldn’t say a word. I don’t care about horror movies. The last thing I’m going to do is hop on Twitter or a podcast and talk about them. Reacting to Bayless and giving him what he wants will just encourage him to use that approach more often.
Bayless is the center of attention here, but I want to shift the focus. It shouldn’t be as much about him as it is about you. What are you doing to stand out and cut through? It’s very easy to knock Bayless’ approach, but have you come up with anything that’s more effective?
I encourage everybody to simply think deeper. We should all be able to agree that there is a method to Bayless’ madness. He isn’t touching nerves by accident, he’s doing it intentionally. The question isn’t whether you like it or not. The question is this: what is the method to your madness? What is your approach that’s working as well or even better than his?
Brian Noe is a columnist for BSM and an on-air host heard nationwide on FOX Sports Radio’s Countdown To Kickoff. Previous roles include stops in Portland, OR, Albany, NY and Fresno, CA. You can follow him on Twitter @TheNoeShow or email him at bnoe@premierenetworks.com.
