Chris Wallace to Terry Bradshaw: Does it ‘Get Under Your Skin’ That People View You as “Dumb?”

CNN’s Chris Wallace held nothing back in his interview with NFL legend and Fox Sports broadcaster Terry Bradshaw by asking the Hall of Famer if it got “under (his) skin” that people view him as “dumb.”

The interview with Bradshaw is part of HBO MAX’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace series. The image of Bradshaw as a dimwit has plagued the Louisiana native since he first entered the league as the first overall pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1970.

The transcript of the interview appeared in Mediaite.

WALLACE: You had to deal, Terry, with another issue when you were applying and this was the rap that you were, forgive me, dumb. And Hollywood Henderson famously said, you know, ‘he couldn’t spell cat if he was spotted a C and an A’. Did that talk get to you? Did it get under your skin?

BRADSHAW: Yes. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. The dumb image, I have yet to figure out. Um, a lot of interceptions my rookie year but my rookie interception record initially was broken by Peyton Manning considered one of the smartest quarterbacks. I threw 25, he threw 28. So I am upset. I do get upset by the dumb image. I don’t like it being brought up. And I think probably some of my anger and frustration with it is, is I didn’t get enough support. I didn’t feel like personally, I didn’t get enough support from Pittsburgh. I thought Chuck Knoll could have stepped in and said ‘that’s the most ridiculous thing I have heard of’ after all, I called in my open plays. You can’t be too stupid and call in your own plays.

WALLACE: Yeah, Chuck Knoll, we should tell people who aren’t as old as you and me, that he was your coach at the Pittsburgh Steelers.

BRADSHAW: Right, head coach of Pittsburgh. But I have taken…I’ve taken that image and had some fun with it. Yeah, I’m kind of as you know, Chris, I like to have fun in interviews. I like to entertain people. If it’s at my expense, I’m fine with it. But there are times, there are times, even at Fox, when it’s Terry’s always, you know the goofball and, and there are times where I’m I don’t say anything, but I do say to myself, enough, you know, enough.

WALLACE: All right. That’s enough of that.

Bradshaw has spoken openly about the criticism of his intelligence in the past. For what it’s worth, the kid from Louisiana who apparently doesn’t know too much has remained employed for quite some time and amassed a fortune reported to be in the neighborhood of $45 million.