Skip Bayless spent five decades working for various legacy newspapers and television networks, including the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, ESPN, and FS1.

When he launched his independent media venture last September, Bayless said he was finally “free” – free to discuss whatever he wants and however he wants to, unburdened by the constant constraints of corporate management.

And if Bayless still worked in network television, his bosses likely would not have allowed him to discuss the WNBA’s hypocrisy following Brittney Griner’s recent comments last month. They certainly wouldn’t have allowed him to take the stance he took on Monday.

For background, Griner appeared to utter “trash fucking white girl” from the bench two weeks ago after she fouled out against the Indian Fever, the team on which Caitlin Clark plays. A clip of Griner’s comments, without sound, trended on social media for nearly four days.

Given the WNBA’s recently launched “no space for hate” and “zero tolerance for racism” campaigns, the league should have commented and investigated the matter.

Instead, the league ignored the situation completely and has refused to comment, despite several requests from OutKick.

“I waited to comment on this until the WNBA was able to investigate it,” Bayless said. “I wanted them to issue a statement about it. But we have heard nothing from the WNBA, absolutely nothing. And Brittney Griner has not commented, which I find significant.”

Bayless noted that Jemele Hill tried saying that Griner said “wack call” instead of “white girl.” To his credit, Bayless pointed out the obvious: in no way was Griner’s last word call. Even the most novice of lip readers can attest she clearly uttered the word “girl.”

“It sure looks like Brittney Griner says ‘f*cking white girl.’” Bayless added. “To me like the last word is ‘girl’ not ‘call.’ Tell me I’m wrong.”

Watch below and tell him he’s wrong:

He’s not wrong.

What’s unclear is for whom Griner’s comments were intended. Were they directed at Clark or the white female referee? We asked Griner’s management team that exact question over two weeks ago. We never heard back.

Bayless believes Griner was talking about Clark–even though she was not the player who drew Griner’s final foul–as in, “The referees are overprotecting the Fever because the league wants the fucking white girl to be MVP, because the fucking white girl sells tickets and denotes ratings.”

We concur.

“Regardless of why Brittney Griner said what she said,” Bayless continued, “I want to know, is the WNBA okay with one of its players saying ‘fucking white girl on the bench and getting caught by TV cameras saying such? I guess they are. I guess they’re okay with it. Obviously, the league would very much not be okay with a white player saying ‘fucking black girl’ on the bench in anger and getting caught by TV cameras. That would be an immediate suspension, if not a career-ender for said white girl. But because the league is 60 percent black, that makes it okay for a black player to say ‘fucking white girl’ in anger without repercussions?

The double standard Bayless referenced is obvious. The WNBA spent nearly two weeks investigating a dubious claim from a social media user that a Fever fan made “monkey noises” toward Angel Reese. The league found no evidence of such. It was a hoax.

Moreover, during the investigation, Reese shared a video on TikTok mocking Clark as a little “white girl afraid to catch this fade.” Fade as in a physical fight, that is.

The WNBA would not comment on Reese’s post, either. We tried.

Let’s just be honest. The WNBA has no zero tolerance for alleged racism against black women, but a whole lot of tolerance for actual racism against white women – or, as Griner would say, the “fucking white girls.”

And that’s wrong and, by definition, racist.

It’s also emblematic of how most of society is still afraid to discuss race honestly. Hence, our column last week, explaining why the Caitlin Clark drama is bigger than basketball.

So, credit to Skip Bayless for discussing the topic honestly, knowing his commentary will undoubtedly trigger the blogosphere and his former colleagues at ESPN.

Telling the truth can be a lonely feeling, after all.