Skip Bayless makes surprising revelation

Despite having a notably strained relationship with Troy Aikman, Skip Bayless was “shocked” to learn the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback had an issue with him.

Bayless joined the latest episode of the Pardon My Take podcast with hosts Dan “Big Cat” Katz and PFT Commenter (Eric Sollenberger). And during a wide-ranging interview that included discussions on Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe and Charles Barkley, PFT noted Aikman was their previous guest, prompting him to ask Bayless about the current state of their relationship.

“Great. We’re in touch, we’re friendly,” Bayless said, before questioning whether PFT was referring to issues stemming from his 1996 book on the Dallas Cowboys titled Hell-Bent .

“Did you imply or say he was gay in the book?” PFT asked.

“I did not say…you didn’t read it obviously,” Bayless concluded, prompting Big Cat to confirm, “We don’t read.”

“If you had read my book, you would love the way I portrayed Troy in my book,” Bayless insisted. “Because Troy was the hero of that book. I liked my portrayal of him that I signed a book and hand delivered the very first copy of my book to Troy on the camp practice field at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. First day of camp, practice ended, I took my book up and gave it to him. And I was shocked that originally, he did not like it. But we have come back around and he’s been nothing but great to me. And we text.”

Aikman presumably didn’t like his portrayal in the book because Bayless addressed rumors that the Cowboys quarterback was gay. In the ensuing years, Bayless has been accused of making the unsubstantiated claim that Aikman was gay. Bayless, however, did not make that claim, he was parroting a rumor floated by then-Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer. While Bayless was not attempting to ignite a rumor of his own, it is still fair to question whether that was a rumor even worth exploring.

Nearly 30 years later, it’s interesting to hear Bayless claim his relationship with Aikman has since improved. Because if it is improved, it took more than two decades to get there. When Fox hired Bayless away from ESPN in 2016, Aikman loudly ripped the decision.

“To say I’m disappointed in the hiring of Skip Bayless would be an enormous understatement,” Aikman said in 2016 when he was the lead NFL analyst for Fox. “I believe success is achieved by acquiring and developing talented, respected and credible individuals, none of which applies to Skip Bayless.”

They’re no longer teammates, with Aikman moving on to ESPN and Bayless leaving Fox to focus on digital ventures earlier this year. But at some point in recent years, it seems as though Bayless addressed his portrayal of Aikman with the former Cowboys quarterback himself. Aikman, however, has not publicly discussed whether his feelings toward Bayless have improved.

[ Pardon My Take ]

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