"Pathetic case... Weak reaches": Skip Bayless infuriated with Rich Paul for promoting LeBron James as GOAT over Michael Jordan
Skip Bayless wasn't too happy with Rich Paul's latest comments on LeBron James. Of course, over the years, Bayless has earned a bit of a reputation among fans as being an outspoken critic of James. Whether or not that played into his latest take, is impossible to say.
Recently, LeBron James' longtime friend, manager and business partner, Rich Paul spoke about how unique of an athlete the four-time NBA champ is. Unlike other athletes from the 80s or 90s, Paul believes that James is the first athlete to deal with a 24/7 news cycle.
From what he's wearing, to where he's traveling, everything James does seems to draw attention from media members, such as Bayless. While players today are more accessible thanks to the evolution of technology and the rise of social media, Paul believes no athlete faces the same attention as James.
But that wasn't all. As Rich Paul explained, he believes his longtime friend has the edge over Michael Jordan when it comes to the 'GOAT' debate. Given how heated things tend to get when discussing the 'greatest of all time,' it's no surprise Bayless quickly fired back.
Skip Bayless refuted Rich Paul's claims, stating that Paul was reaching in order to make something out of nothing. He spoke about the situation on Tuesday's episode of Undisputed alongside Keyshawn Johnson and Michael Irvin.
"Not only has LeBron not been hurt by social media he has benefitted hugely from using social media. He has 158M IG followers, he has 53 more million Twitter followers. A lot of those are just as gullible as fools as the people who are blogging out of control without any checks and balances.
"They are what I call the blind witnesses who are actually diluted and deluded into believing LeBron is the GOAT when it's not even close. ... He was the chosen one, he had it tattooed against his back, you're asking for it and you got it right between the eyes because you can't measure up to this man because no human could."
Bayless continued:
"I respect Rich for trying to make the pathetic case that he tries but these are weak reaches to me."
Looking at the rare case of Skip Bayless defending LeBron James last season
While Skip Bayless has continued to face scrutiny for criticizing LeBron James, that isn't always the case. Last season, James found himself on the receiving end of some criticism from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
On top of previously criticizing LeBron James for posting misinformation about the COVID-19 virus, Abdul-Jabbar criticized James for his actions on-court as well. After James celebrated a win with a dance that the Hall of Famer deemed inappropriate, Skip Bayless defended James.
"I'm on LeBron's side in this because I do not love the way Kareem has criticized LeBron because it just doesn't feel right to me and his 'gripes' are not worthy of public airing. It just doesn't seem fair to me and in the biggest picture, it's a little sad to me."
As fans have also pointed out, during Kobe Bryant's career, Bayless notably criticized him as well. Given that, many have wondered what it is about some of the league's biggest stars that simply don't rub the longtime TV host the right way.