Troy Aikman once destroyed Fox Sports over Skip Bayless hire

For two decades, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman was Fox's main NFL analyst, calling six Super Bowls with Joe Buck. In 2016, the penultimate season of that stint, famed sportscaster Skip Bayless joined the network as the host of Undisputed.

When the development was first announced, Aikman could not hide his disappointment. Just two days before the NFL season began, he told Richard Deitsch, then a writer for Sports Illustrated:

“To say I’m disappointed in the hiring of Skip Bayless would be an enormous understatement. Clearly, [Fox Sports president of national networks] Jamie Horowitz and I have a difference of opinion when it comes to building a successful organization. I believe success is achieved by acquiring and developing talented, respected and credible individuals, none of which applies to Skip Bayless."

So why the disdain in the first place? According to Deitsch, Bayless had claimed in Hell-Bent (his book about the Cowboys' 1990s dynasty), without proof that Aikman was gay. The Ringer's Bryan Curtis touched upon the subject at the same time as SI:

"After hearing the rumor, Bayless talked to Aikman’s agent Leigh Steinberg, a Dallas police source, a team source, and Aikman’s sportscaster pal Dale Hansen. They all said there was no evidence Aikman was gay.

"Next, Bayless wondered aloud whether such a rumor was newsworthy even if it were true. (“[W]hat should the sexual preference of a pro athlete matter to a journalist?”) He noted how easily rumors can attach themselves to superstar athletes. (“[I]f a stud quarterback speaks openly of how much he loves spending time with his ‘buddies’ … is he automatically branded ‘gay’ in our macho, homophobic society?”) Bayless wrote that Switzer himself sometimes stayed in a hotel in Dallas’s “gay district” — someone with an agenda could start a rumor about him."

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What did Skip Bayless say about Troy Aikman's comment?

Two months after Aikman's comment, Bayless visited Seth Davis' podcast to explain why he had to address the gay rumors:

"As I wrote in the book I don't know and I don't care, but that was a big locker room issue that year and a big issue among the Switzer supporters."

He also revealed that he wanted to make amends with Aikman:

"I wrote him a note that said, 'I'm dumbfounded by this that you have any issue with this book. I would have thought you would have loved this book.' He was like the last American hero to me. And to this day I haven't seen Troy, and I would be happy to sit down with him today and talk to him."

Such a reconciliation never happened, because Troy Aikman left Fox Sports in 2022 for ESPN and Monday Night Football. Skip Bayless, meanwhile, awaits a new co-host on Undisputed after Fox Sports bought out Shannon Sharpe.