Skip Bayless is a lot of things, but a contrarian is not one of them, at least not in his own eyes.
Speaking on his podcast, The Skip Bayless Show, the co-host of Undisputed on FS1 opened his most recent episode by tackling head-on the notion that he always goes against popular opinion.
"I have often been called a contrarian," Bayless said. "And I deeply despise the term contrarian. To me, a contrarian is someone who delights in taking the opposite view of a popular belief or conventional thinking, just because that person enjoys attracting attention to himself, or herself. Yet that person, that contrarian, often doesn't often truly believe what he or she is saying. So to me, a contrarian goes against the grain just to go against the grain."
Bayless went on to talk about shock jocks in media, saying that there are people like that who only look to get attention and reaction for hot takes. But when it comes to his own brand and how he portrays himself on television, Bayless said he never considers arguing the opposite side of a point if whoever he's debating happens to be on his side.
"Ask anybody who's competed against me on TV," he said. "Ask them and they'll tell you 1,000 percent, I believe what I argue on television, what I say on television. Because I back it up with facts, not just flimsy opinion that I throw against the wall for 2.5 hours a day on television and hope that maybe 10 percent of it sticks. I do debate on live TV with extreme passion, as you know, with extreme love of sports. I am psycho-driven to win every single debate, but I back it up with facts. There's no shock jock in my game whatsoever."
Skip is widely considered one of the most-hated sports personalities out there. NBA analyst Charles Barkley doesn't have a problem voicing his disdain for Bayless. But Skip noted it's not about being liked or seen as a heel.
"I don't care if you like me or love me or hate me. I do care that you respect me," he said. "I do care that you respect my knowledge, my insight, my experience and my research. That you trust that my gut feelings are genuine and credible."
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