Shannon Sharpe Rips Tony Romo, Mark Cuban After QB Thanks Dallas Fans At Mavericks’ Final Home Game

Tony Romo officially said goodbye to the city of Dallas on Tuesday night at the Mavericks’ home finale, thanking fans after joining the NBA team for warm-up drills.

Shannon Sharpe Slams Tony Romo, Mark Cuban For Tribute At Last Mavericks Home Game

The 36-year-old Cowboys quarterback, who announced his retirement last week, will now be joining CBS as a top football analyst.

Romo could have played in an NBA regular-season game, but league commissioner Adam Silver rejected Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s proposal to let the QB play.

On Wednesday’s episode of ‘Undisputed,’ Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless commented on the Maverick’s tribute to Romo, and Sharpe explained why he believed the move was “ridiculous.”

“This is ridiculous. This is utterly, utterly ridiculous,” said Sharpe, who first argued that he was confused about the homage since Romo’s record as a Cowboys quarterback during his 14 years in Dallas was much worse than many of his predecessors. “I’m trying to figure out, Skip, what did he do to deserve this? If this is Troy Aikman, with three Super Bowls… do it, Dallas. If this is Roger Staubach, with two Super Bowls, have at it.”

Sharpe continued, directing additional criticism at Cuban, whom he said he respects, for choosing Romo as a “stunt” for his final home game of the regular season.

“Tony Romo? He gets this kind of reception?” said Sharpe. “Because he’s retiring, he get this? Skip, Mark Cuban is a very proud man. He’s a very proud owner. He’s a very, very good owner. And he had to resort to a stunt like this for the last home game, to sell it out? Is this where we are now?”

Sharpe also said the move reminded him of a minor-league baseball attention grab, and took a jab at another NFL quarterback without mentioning his name. He cited the Class A Columbia Fireflies, the minor-league team former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow has been playing for.

Finally, Sharpe reiterated Romo’s few playoff victories and zero Super Bowl rings as a reason for his confusion over the tribute.

“He’s a guy with those numbers. Yeah, he had some good numbers, but you’re judged – especially at that position, at the quarterback position – by two things: playoff wins and Super Bowls. He had very little of one, two playoff wins, and absolutely none of the other.”

Here is Romo warming up with the Mavericks (32-49, 12th in West) before Tuesday’s 109-91 loss to the Denver Nuggets:

After those warm-ups and before the game began, Romo addressed the American Airlines Center crowd, saying: “This is an honor that  I could never have dreamed of. To be honest, I’m a little embarrassed. But I tell you what, I’m a really lucky guy. Thank you Dallas, I love you.”

Chants by fans for Romo to play in the game began escalating at one point, but the former QB was not allowed to participate.

Sharpe finally said Romo was being treated “like a legend” before adding how “disgusted” he was by the stunt.

Bayless, meanwhile, admitted that many of Sharpe’s arguments were valid, but added his own perspective on the move as someone who lived in Dallas for several years.

“I cannot refute one thing you just said, however, I can enlighten you about the city of Dallas, Texas, in which I lived and worked for 16, 17 years.” said Bayless. “I’m going to be the first to admit to you up front, as a lifelong Cowboy fan, last night felt weird to me. It felt odd to me. It felt a little off to me. And in the end, it just felt wrong to me. I’m with you, I get that.

Now let’s put it in this context: Dallas, Texas, is a star town. It’s a box-office town. It’s an event town. And last night, for all the wrong reasons, became quite an event in Dallas, Texas.”

Bayless also said Romo has always had “star appeal,” even though he believes it’s “largely unearned,” and also added that the quarterback went from one who nearly set a record with touchdown passes early in his career to one who had an NFL-high interceptions.

“For me, it’s a huge honor just to see that they want to do something just to say thank you for your career, what you did for the city to help the city and they way that I’ve supported them,” Romo said at the Mavericks shootaround Tuesday morning. “I don’t feel like I deserve anything like this. I feel like this whole week has been emotional in the sense of just the outpouring of support from people who appreciated you and loved you. I can’t say enough. Just to say thank you to Coach and everybody else. It’s really just an honor to be able to do this.”

SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 25: Quarterback Tony Romo #9 of the Dallas Cowboys warms up prior to the preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on August 25, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)