New York Giants Ring of Honor member Carl Banks resigned from his weekly spot on WFAN earlier this month after getting into a heated debate with hosts Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata.
Banks was staunchly defending second-year edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux to a fault (according to the hosts) and was hung up on. He decided to take his talents elsewhere.
“My father was a great debater. I’ve got no problem with debating,” Banks said on “The Michael Kay Show” on Wednesday, via NJ Advance Media. “I have a problem with debating someone who will not acknowledge facts. It’s a waste of time at that point.”
Banks, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Giants who serves as an on-air game analyst on the team’s radio broadcasts, explained what happened that day on the air.
“I’ve got nothing but love for Brandon. I don’t know Sal, but I respect his fandom, I respect his enthusiasm,” Banks said. “Yes, it’s disrespectful to be hung up on. We had that conversation. But the realization to me is that that’s not a platform I want to be on.
“I think they speak facts a lot, but when you want to have a position on someone and you want to ask me about it, and you tell me you haven’t seen that person or you don’t watch that person. I’m like, ‘Well, what are we talking about?’ ‘Cause I’m going to tell you what he’s doing, and if you can only tell me what he’s not doing, then you’re not paying attention to what he’s doing.”
Talk radio isn’t for everyone, and Banks feels he just might not be suited for the aural clickbait universe.
“It just wasn’t for me,” Banks said. “I won’t say I’m bigger than them, but I’m bigger than arguing back and forth with people … going back and forth when a fact is sitting right here as plain as this cup.”
Perhaps somewhat fittingly, Thibodeaux is among the league leaders in sacks (11.0) and is headed for a possible Pro Bowl nod.
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