Earlier in the week, Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post reported that Skip Bayless will be leaving Undisputed and FS1 with his final show to take place later in the summer. Bayless, who was at the center of a revamped edition of the program that premiered last September, had previously worked alongside Shannon Sharpe on the show since it premiered in 2016. Sharpe left FS1 last year after tensions with Bayless and joined Stephen A. Smith as a contributor on First Take, earning himself a multiyear extension with ESPN he signed last month. In the process, First Take has eclipsed Undisputed in average viewership, continuing an active streak of 23 straight months of year-over-year growth. Bayless recruited Smith to work with him on First Take, and the duo ended up working with one another for parts of five years.
Smith, who is currently on vacation from First Take, recorded a new edition of his eponymous podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show, and discussed his sentiments on Bayless’ reported departure from FS1. While he acknowledged that he had not spoken with Bayless in a long time, he stated that does not root against him. Smith explained that although he does not root against his colleagues, contemporaries or friends, he aspires to be more successful than them.
“Being on First Take and wanting to be No. 1 doesn’t mean I wanted Skip Bayless to fail,” Smith said. “[It] doesn’t mean that I want to see him out of the business, not at a profession, and with the news coming down that he’s departing from FS1, I have not called him. I’m not going to because I know what this moment must be like for him.”
Smith articulated that Bayless has a “boatload of energy” and does not want to walk away from anything, conveying that he has extreme passion for sports. There is no way that Smith can see him voluntarily leaving his role, but through the aftermath of the announcement, he has evinced mixed emotions towards the situation. Smith, however, feels sad for his former colleague because he cannot fathom that it is a moment of jubilance or exaltation.
“There’s a lot of positive things going on in my career in the place that I’m in. Skip Bayless has a lot to do with that,” Smith said. “Who knows where I’d be had he not put me on First Take. Yes, we catapulted and we elevated and we became No. 1 together and that’s true, but it doesn’t happen if he doesn’t push to make it happen.”
Despite the shortcomings and reports of Bayless’ departure, Smith does not feel that what he did was an abject failure. Smith reminded the audience that Bayless did not struggle after one year in the sports media business, but rather has found ways to adapt and continuously thrive for more than four decades.
“Is he perfect? No, none of us are,” Smith said. “Is he always right? Hell no. Are there things that most of us would have done differently than him? Fine. But what I’m not going to do, ever, is talk about him like he’s failed.”
Smith acknowledged that there comes a point in time when it is no longer the time for a person at a specific place. Yet Bayless’ reported departure from FS1 does not mean that it is over for him, with Smith outlining that he could have a podcast or may get another show somewhere else. From there, he spoke about how people may have been expecting to hear Smith celebrating the news, but that is not how he is reacting to the developments.
“I’m on First Take – my goal is always to win,” Smith said. “All of our time is up – I’m a Black man. Make no mistake about it. I know it’s going to come to an end for me someday. Nothing lasts forever. I’m under no illusions. I hope in the end when all is said and done, my career will be as long as Skip Bayless’ career has been.”
As he concluded his podcast, Smith made it clear that people can still love someone if they do not agree with them all of the time or even like them or what they do. In this situation though, he is not celebrating and is hoping that Bayless is not feeling any pain. Conversely, he hopes that Bayless wants to leave FS1 and that he has additional plans. Moreover, he expressed that he will call him to let him know when he wants to talk, expressing that it is best to let Bayless reach out on his own.
“I just wanted to speak on it (a) to let everybody know I’m not happy if he’s not happy as it pertains to his situation,” Smith said. “And No. 2, I won’t speak against him. Again, he wasn’t always right. We didn’t always agree. Matter of fact, most of the time; 99% of the time, we disagreed, but where I am, where I’ve been and especially where the hell I’m going with the stuff I got planned coming down the pike in a matter of months, none of it’s possible if Skip Bayless doesn’t extend that helping hand and brings me on First Take. I’ll never forget that. I never have – I never will. You want to hold on to something that I have to say about Skip Bayless? Hold on to that.”
