Jimmy Calls Out Bayless for Lying About Cowboys Trade
FRISCO - On October 13, 1989, the Dallas Cowboys engineered one of the largest, most lopsided and most important trades in NFL history, Dallas dealing All-Pro running back Herschel Walker in exchange for a huge package of picks and players that became the roster foundation of a three-time Super Bowl winner.
History allows room for an argument between which Cowboys boss - owner Jerry Jones or head coach Jimmy Johnson - was the mastermind of the deal; we've always contended in this space that there is room for credit for both men.
But now, viewers of FS1, part of the FOX conglomerate that now employs Johnson, is being asked to give some credit to a third party.
Skip Bayless.
Bayless is on TV claiming that he had inside knowledge, beforehand, of the coming trade. And how did he know?
Because, Bayless claims,"I was right in the middle of it. ... Jimmy actually came to me ... and asked me, 'What if I told you I could trade Herschel Walker for a king's ransom?' That's what he asked me.
"I said, 'Seriously'?''
Well, no. Not seriously.
This trade, which sent shockwaves through the NFL, stayed under wraps until it occurred; there was no media knowledge of it in advance, as Bayless claims.
Not long after this, Bayless would write a book about Johnson's role in turning the Cowboys into a winner ... but Johnson refused to be interviewed for the book. (That's right; Bayless was so "right in the middle of it'' that he was forced to write books about the Cowboys without cooperation from the Cowboys.)
READ MORE: Cowboys' 'Real Leader' Dak Responds to Bayless About Mental Issues
We have in this space detailed our distaste for Bayless on a professional and personal basis, all founded on our 30-year knowledge of him. We are therefore not surprised at Bayless' outrageous claim; rather, we continue to feel some sadness for the viewers and sponsors who are unknowingly being conned.
And who is here to testify this time that Bayless is a conman? Jimmy Johnson himself.
"Never said this!'' Johnson tweeted.
Skip Bayless caught lying? Yeah ... But it's a living. We suppose.
