Skip Bayless is reportedly leaving Undisputed and FS1, with his final show slated to take place later this summer, according to a report from Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post. Bayless, who launched the program in tandem with Shannon Sharpe in 2016, has been at the center of a new format for the program that debuted earlier this year. On most editions of the program, Bayless has served as the debate moderator and a participant while including former athletes and personalities such as Keyshawn Johnson, Michael Irvin, Richard Sherman, Rachel Nichols, Josina Anderson and Lil’ Wayne among others.
Sharpe left the show after seven years following a contentious debate with Bayless, specifically pointing to a conversation in which Bayless lambasted his NFL career for no reason. There were other tense moments that were seen on the air during the final six months of the program’s iteration with Bayless and Sharpe on FS1. Sharpe ended up making twice-weekly appearances on First Take as a contributor while also entering his independent media company, Shay Shay Media, into a partnership with The Volume. On the latest edition of the Nightcap show with co-host Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Sharpe took time to address his sentiments surrounding Bayless and his reported departure.
“I don’t really know what happened with Skip,” Sharpe said. “Skip gave me an opportunity – I’ve been very forthcoming about that. I’m not in the position I’m in if Skip doesn’t give me the opportunity, but when people say it’s luck, that’s what happens when preparation meets opportunity. I was prepared when the opportunity presented itself, and I took full advantage of that, so I will be forever grateful for Skip giving me that opportunity.”
Stephen A. Smith expressed that he wanted Sharpe to join him on First Take as the program was experiencing consistent year-over-year gains in the ratings. In fact, the program has garnered 23 straight months of year-over-year growth and attained the best first six months of a year in program history. Sharpe signed a multiyear contract extension with ESPN in June through which he will continue making appearances on First Take and contributing to other ESPN programming as well. Even though he no longer works with Bayless, he does not want to let six months ruin the rest of the time they were on the air together.
“I want Skip to win,” Sharpe said. “I wanted Skip to succeed at Undisputed, and just because I’m not there, that doesn’t mean I don’t want him to succeed. I just realized that he and I couldn’t succeed at the same table, but I want him to succeed.”
Sharpe affirmed that while he wants him and Smith to succeed on the program as well, he is not jealous of anyone and has never had such emotions towards anyone. Throughout the segment, he also addressed rumors that Smith and Sharpe were causing tension on the program. Sharpe questioned the premise of the accusation and stated that in the five times he has been to the studio in New York City, he is not on calls when the program is discussing topics, walks in, does the show and then returns home.
“Find a producer – find someone that says, ‘Man, you know what. I had a conversation with Shannon Sharpe for five minutes while I’ve been at First Take,’” Sharpe said. “Find one person. Not Stephen A., not Molly. I talk on the set, I take my clothes off, I hang them back up, we out.”
As he discussed his routine on First Take, he was curious to know what people have against Smith and why they are trying to lump him in. Sharpe conveyed that he has no problem with Smith, explaining that he has been great to him, and was confused as to the origin of such information and its dissemination. Nonetheless, he wished Bayless the best and emphasized his gratitude towards the opportunities with which he has presented.
“Stephen A., the opportunity that he gave me, and to be able to sit down and talk to Bob Iger, and he says, ‘I want you a part of this,’” Sharpe said. “To sit down and talk with Jimmy Pitaro and to talk to Burke Magnus and to talk to Dave Roberts, to hear them say, ‘We want you,’ ‘cause at the end of the day, that’s all anybody ever want is to be wanted – any relationship, to be wanted.”
