Dallas Cowboys’ Micah Parsons explains why he skipped FS1’s ‘Undisputed’ appearance
So why did Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons no-show his first scheduled weekly appearance Tuesday on Fox Sports 1’s “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed”?
Parsons said he was trying to be a leader following the 19-3 season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which quarterback Dak Prescott fractured his right thumb.
“My starting QB went down and we lost,” he said. “I just didn’t think it was appropriate for me to be on the show at that point. I need to step up and be a leader. It shouldn’t be on TV, it should be in this locker room. This is where my focus should be right now.”
Parsons called it a miscommunication between his team and FS1. He had decided not do the show after the game.
But it wasn’t communicated to hosts Skip Bayless, Shannon Sharpe or the folks at “Undisputed.” They tried to reach Parsons all day Monday and Tuesday morning leading up to the show.
“I got people that handle that type of stuff,” Parsons said. “If there was a miscommunication on that part, I will correct that. I have nothing but love for Skip and Shannon. I wouldn’t just no-show anybody like that. A man is only as good as his word.”
Before the season, Parsons expressed excitement about doing the show. FS1 set up equipment in his house to make it as convenient as possible.
He said he plans to do the show in the future but didn’t know when.
Sharpe hopes Parsons will find time to do the show but was disappointed with the lack of communication.
“I’m hopeful that after a couple weeks of them getting back to winning that he’d join us during the season, even if it’s not every week,” Sharpe said on the show Tuesday. “But I don’t understand why, after FS1 put the equipment in his house, he’d go radio silent. Just say, ‘Look, at this point in time I just want to focus on football. I’m sorry to have led you guys on but right now football is the most important thing and I’m not gonna be able to do it right now.’”
Football is the most important thing to Parsons right now.
Parsons had a strong game in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, recording two sacks and two tackles for losses while leading a defense that held Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay offense to one touchdown and just 19 points.
But Parsons, the reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, said he didn’t do enough.
“I thought what I did was good but it wasn’t enough, not enough to put a win out,” he said. “We needed more turnovers, we needed more stops early. There are a lot of things we could have done better to try to change the outcome of that game.”
Parsons certainly left it all out on the field as he played every defensive snap and is prepared to do so again against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
“I’ve got to make sure I’m able to play every defensive snap,” he said. “That’s something I want. I’m putting that chip on my shoulder. No one else is making me do this. I want to do this for this team. I just need to be out there. I don’t want to come off.
“Obviously, I’m sore but that comes with this game. I just love what I do.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 5:40 PM.
