Skip Bayless Says Comments on Dak Prescott's Mental Health Were 'Misconstrued'

Fox Sports' Skip Bayless said Friday his apparent criticism of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott for revealing he sought help for anxiety and depression during the NFL offseason was "misconstrued."

Bayless addressed the widespread condemnation of his remarks during Friday's edition of Undisputed on Fox Sports 1 (via TMZ Sports):

"As I strongly stated, I have great compassion for anyone having clinical depression which is very real. And, this is the final point, one I'm told was misconstrued by many—the only Dak depression I addressed on yesterday's show was from an interview he taped with Graham Bensinger.

"Dak said that depression happened soon after the pandemic hit, early in the quarantine. I said yesterday that if Dak needed help for pandemic depression he should've sought counseling then. And again, if you are suffering from any form of depression, please seek help."

Fox Sports issued a statement Thursday denouncing Bayless' remarks:

"At Fox Sports, we are proud of Dak Prescott for publicly revealing his struggle with depression and mental health. No matter the cause of the struggle, Fox Sports believes Dak showed tremendous courage which is evident in both his leadership on the Dallas Cowboys and in his character off the field.

"We do not agree with Skip Bayless' opinion on Undisputed this morning. We have addressed the significance of this matter with Skip and how his insensitive comments were received by people internally at Fox Sports and our audience."

Here are a portion of Bayless' original comments:

"You are commanding an entire franchise. ... And they're all looking to you to be their CEO, to be in charge of the football team. Because of all that, I don't have sympathy for him going public with 'I got depressed' and 'I suffered depression early in COVID to the point that I couldn't even go work out.' Look, he's the quarterback of America's team."

Prescott discussed his mental health on In Depth with Graham Bensinger as part of a conversation about his brother Jace's death by suicide in April that will air this weekend:

In part, the 27-year-old Mississippi State product explained he decided to go public with a discussion about his mental health to help others feel comfortable doing the same (via ESPN's Todd Archer):

"Mental health is a huge issue and a real thing in our world right now, especially the world we live in where everything is viral and everyone is part of the media. [You] can get on social media and be overcome with emotions and thoughts of other people and allow that to fill in their head when things aren't necessarily true—whether it's getting likes on Instagram or something being viewed or getting bullied or whatever it may be.

"All those things create emotions and put things in your head about yourself or your situation in life that aren't true. I think it's huge. I think it's huge to talk. I think it's huge to get help. And it saves lives."

Prescott and the Cowboys open the 2020 season Sunday when they visit SoFi Stadium to take on the Los Angeles Rams.