Dak Prescott opens up about his depression and gets ripped by shock jock Skip Bayless
Dak Prescott recently opened up about his depression following the death of his brother, Jace, by suicide, and while most applauded the Dallas Cowboys quarterback for sharing about his struggles, one person in particular took aim.
Skip Bayless, a former sports columnist in Dallas, is a shock jock known for his hot takes and wasted no time in going after Prescott.
“I’m going to ask our audience to go ahead and condemn me, if you choose, as cold-blooded and insensitive on this issue,” Bayless said on his Fox Sports show, Undisputed.
“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. You are commanding an entire franchise. … But you’re commanding a lot of young men and some older men. And they’re all looking to you to be their CEO, to be in charge of the football team. Because of all that, I don’t have sympathy for him going public with ‘I got depressed. I suffered depression early in COVID to the point where I couldn’t even go workout.’ Look, he’s the quarterback of America’s Team.”
Prescott also talked his about anxiety during the early months of the coronavirus and that he sought help, in his interview with Graham Bensinger for an upcoming episode of “In Depth.”
“When you have thoughts that you’ve never had, I think that’s more so than anything a chance to realize it and recognize it, to be vulnerable about it,” Prescott said. “Talked to my family, talked to the people around me simply as I did at the time. Some of them obviously had dealt with it before, was able to have those conversations and then reach out further just to more people. I think being open about it and not holding those feelings in was one of the better things for me.”
Prominent figures in sports media immediately went on the record, calling out Bayless’s lack of empathy and noted the danger of being a public figure openly saying someone who suffers from depression can’t be seen as a leader in his community.
Bayless has had more than his share of controversial takes in the past, including saying that LeBron James will never win a ring.
But Twitter pointed out that his comments about Prescott might be his most controversial take yet.
Especially when the take is mouthed during National Suicide Prevention Week.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Dak Prescott opens up about his depression and gets ripped by shock jock Skip Bayless."