In an on-air interview during Friday’s broadcast of ESPN First Take, ESPN censored Skip Bayless. The in-studio hosts cut to Bayless for his opinion on Tim Tebow’s GQ Magazine cover. Bayless took the opportunity to turn the discussion into a religious rant about the prosecution of Tebow and his faith.
GQ Magazine published some photographs of Tebow from a photoshoot that took place while Tebow was a student at the University of Florida. Including, the conversational Jesus pose photograph.
According to the YouTube video, Tebow commented that he was shocked to learn that he would be on the cover of GQ. The photos were old and he was not interviewed for the magazine article. The magazine edited the photos of Tebow’s Florida football pants from bright blue to the New York Jets green in order to make the photos look recent.
Bayless took the opportunity to go on a rant about football, Tebow, and religion. He began by starting that he felt that Tebow was being prosecuted for his faith. Then ESPN cut to commercial break while he was mid sentence. When they came back from the commercial break, Bayless said that he believes that Tebow never would agree to pose like Jesus on the cross, then ESPN cut to commercial again.
Before the broadcast went live, Bayless tweeted, “We’re on for only 1 hour today but what an hour: Stephen A and I about to throw down on criticism of Romo/religious persecution of Tebow.”
After the broadcast, Bayless tweeted, “I am sick and tired of Tebow being ridiculed in the media for his religion. If he were any other faith, this would not happen.”