Skip Bayless' 30-Minute Rant Over Travis Hunter's Baptism

With each new draft class that arrives in any major league sport, Skip Bayless finds a way to make its stars the subject of his latest hot take. Now, he’s aiming for Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter, all because he decided to get baptized before Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. It all culminated in a 28-minute rant from the former ESPN and FS1 host, who claims that despite being midway through his first professional season, Hunter’s already checked out.

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Bayless launches into his point by saying that it’s a shame that Hunter is so talented, but the Jags aren’t using him nearly as much as they should on defense. “He’s starting to check out mentally on the Jags, so he was actually happy to be baptized on a game day morning because football isn’t taking that much concentration or focus or pregame mental preparation,” he said. “It was a stunning indication of where his head is at, or not at, right now,” he added. “It’s not really into football right now.” Skip added, “His attitude, obviously, in this case was, hey, they’re not using me that much anyway, why not?” Bayless later points out that he’s known Hunter’s personality isn’t suited for the competitive nature of most elite athletes, and Troy Aikman and Deion Sanders have told him before that Hunter prefers a laid-back life. “Deion has told me that Travis Hunter can fish all day and all night and be totally content,” Bayless said. So, despite what Bayless calls a God-given ability to be such an astonishing two-way player, “he will compete, but he is not driven to excel at football… As much as God has blessed Travis Hunter…  God did not give him supreme dedication to football.” Before Sunday’s home game, Hunter was asked why he got baptized, saying it was a crazy question before saying it’s something he’d thought about for a while, and what better day than Sunday, being “God’s day.” “I’ve been planning to go get baptized for a minute. I changed my life over to become a better man,” Hunter said. “It means a lot. I’m becoming a better man and leaving my old self and starting a new chapter.” Bayless’ take drew criticism from around the sports world, including Robert Griffin III, who called him “arrogant.” See more reactions below.

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