Why Bill Simmons Can't Stand The Attention OutKick And Pablo Torre Receive | Bobby Burack

Bill Simmons sure sounds bitter for someone so successful.

Despite saying how much he enjoys the NBA playoffs, Simmons has been complaining about nearly everyone and everything in the industry for the past month, including Mark Cuban, ESPN, NBA fans, Dan Le Batard, OutKick, me, Clay Travis, me again, TNT, and Richard Jefferson.

Did we miss any? Of course, we did. But you get the point.

Now, add Pablo Torre to the list. 

On Monday, Simmons criticized Torre for his investigative reporting into Bill Belichick's peculiar relationship with 24-year-old former cheerleader Jordon Hudson.

"Pablo Torre would’ve done a long podcast about Leo Farnsworth trying to practice with the team, and then done a media tour about it afterward," Simmons said on his podcast Monday. "I’ve never seen anybody dine on a stupider story for a week and a half while pretending you’re a journalist. What the f*ck was that? Seriously.

"Belichick’s dating a girl. ‘Oh, let me do nine shows about it,'" he said. "Settle the fuck down. Alright, alright. You don’t need to do a media tour about a fucking podcast."

Torre responded by asking Simmons to discuss his criticism of him on-air:

We caution Torre not to expect Simmons to accept his invitation. Bill Simmons doesn't engage in a lot of honest back-and-forths.

Last month, Simmons tried to mock me on his podcast over my coverage of the NBA ratings. We say tried because, well, he jumped the gun. Simmons was also annoyed that I responded to his criticism of me. Which, uh, yeah.

Nonetheless, we asked him to come on OutKick and address whatever criticism of me/us he has. Truth be told, I was going to throw some data points at him and really rile up all the NBA fanboys. I might not be able to defeat Ryen Russillo in trivia about the 2024 NBA Summer League, but I like my chances against Simmons in a debate about the ratings.

Unfortunately, we have yet to hear back. The invitation remains. 

That said, we recommend Simmons come on OutKick before Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Put simply, don't expect the Thunder-Pacers to rival any episode of "Yellowstone" in viewership.

In all seriousness, Simmons is starting to sound like Howard Stern — the post-COVID Howard Stern.

Simmons and Stern are on a short list of media figures to have ever cashed a check for nine figures. They are also both visibly unhappy and bothered by the relevance of their peers.

Simmons can't stand that OutKick is now a topic on other shows and websites, including his own. Our coverage of the NBA ratings, Caitlin Clark, trans sports, ESPN, and racial hypocrisy within sports has triggered the industry cool kids to such a point that they continue to humiliate themselves publicly by trying to refute it.

People now blame us when ESPN cancels a show, like "Around the Horn," or fires a racist, like Stan Verrett.

Likewise, Pablo Torre's reporting on Belichick has generated national headlines for weeks, as did his reporting on LeBron James skipping Kobe Bryant's funeral. In terms of relevancy, no podcast in sports has been more relevant this year than Torre's, including Simmons'.

Torre's place in the industry is complicated. 

In some ways, he fits in the same category as Bomani Jones, Sarah Spain, Mina Kimes, and Kate Fagan. He's very liberal and probably off-putting to the average guy who spends his weekends watching football and drinking domestic beers. Like the other four, he also rose through the ranks via Dan Le Batard and former ESPN president John Skipper.

Bill Simmons and Pablo Torre won't be exchanging Christmas cards this year. (Credit: Getty Images)

In other ways, Torre is more of a throwback to an old-school sports journalist. There's a reason he is Tony Kornheiser's preferred fill-in on "PTI." Torre also isn't as mean-spirited and condescending as the industry cool kids would like.

He's also successful. 

Torre's stints at Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN The Daily, and now at Meadowlark Media were more successful than anything Bomani, Spain, Fagan, and Mina Kimes ever produced.

In fact, Torre's biggest career blunder was co-hosting "High Noon" with Bomani. ("High Noon" was one of three shows built around Bomani to fail.)

So, it's no surprise Simmons is now coming after Torre. He's jealous. He shouldn't be, considering he has made far more money than Torre ever has. But he is. 

See, no amount of money can satisfy Simmons' insatiable demand for attention. The same can be said about Howard Stern. And right now, Torre and OutKick receive the attention Simmons believes should be his.

Alas, we now await Simmons to whine about this article and Torre's tweet, while his sidekick explains why Johnny Furphy is the key to the Finals.