Shannon Sharpe to leave FS1's 'Undisputed' as HOF TE deserts Skip Bayless after 7 years
Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless' partnership is reportedly coming to an end soon. The two have been a staple in analyzing football and basketball games. But if the latest reports are true, we will not see the former NFL great grace the screens for the coming 2023 NFL season.
Sharpe is reportedly expected to leave after the 2023 NBA Finals end, meaning next week could be the last collaboration between the two of them. Essentially, how long they will be seen together depends on how long the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat can stretch the Finals series.
If the series goes through all seven games, then it will finish on Sunday, June 18th. The week beginning on the 19th is then expected to be their last few shows together.
The two hosts have had many sporting disagreements on the air, but issues beyond disputes that stemmed from the sports field might have cast some sourness, which has brought this reported demise.
Issues reportedly come to a head between Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless on 'Undisputed'
One time when things came to a head was last season when Damar Hamlin collapsed playing for the Buffalo Bills against the Cincinnati Bengals. Bayless sent out a tweet that was widely panned as it seemed that he was more worried about the sporting connotations than what the player was going through at the time.
Shannon Sharpe skipped the next day's show, in what was seen widely as a protest move. When he came back, he was unequivocal in denouncing the post, which he hoped Skip Bayless would take down. However, Skip demurred in taking it down, interrupting Shannon's flow on the show, which he did not take kindly to.
Unc Shannon sharpe was explaining why he wasn’t on undisputed yesterday & this man Skip bayless gonna interrupt him when Shannon tells him to take down the tweet of damar Hamlin 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️ twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/hQQK0njiQZ
While that was one of the most high-profile issues fans saw on air, there were other issues as well. Shannon Sharpe reportedly wanted more control in deciding the topics that they were discussing on 'Undisputed'.
As someone who has come up and become as big a name in the broadcasting arena as he was on the football field, he believed he should be treated as an equal.
It was not a completely irrelevant argument either. When Skip Bayless left ESPN in 2016, ending his partnership there with Stephen A. Smith, few could have envisaged someone else taking over the spot of the sparring partner.
But Shannon Sharpe had replaced Smith from time to time and had shown his worth in steady ratings even before he joined FS1.
Stephen A. was really recruiting a few months ago… 😂
#ShannonSharpe #Undisputed #StephenASmith #SkipBayless #FirstTake #Espn #NYPost #FS1 twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/xhBHbkCnIB
With Shannon Sharpe already hosting a podcast of his own and him being more popular than ever, it remains to be seen if Skip Bayless and 'Undisputed' can survive without him.