First Take has gotten into the reunion business after pairing Mike Francesa and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo together earlier this month. However, don’t expect to see Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless reunited.
During an appearance on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, Smith was asked by former First Take host Jay Crawford if we’ll ever see he and Bayless paired up again.
“I don’t believe so,” Smith said. “I love Skip. I’m incredibly grateful to him, but I don’t think that will ever happen. I think we’re just going in separate directions. I have aspirations outside the world of sports. If he interviews me for his podcast or I do it for my podcast, that would be different. But on screen together, working together on-screen in a debate format? That’s not something that I think is going to happen.
“I think both of us have moved beyond that and I don’t see that happening. I don’t think he’ll be back at ESPN. If I’m doing sports, I’ll probably be here, and if I’m doing more than sports — which I definitely plan on doing — that’s not his lane. Skip cares about sports all day, every day, and very little else. So I don’t see that happening.”
While promoting his book “Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes“, Smith has openly discussed his admiration for Skip Bayless, and defended the FS1 host after his controversial tweet during the Damar Hamlin incident received plenty of backlash.
