Stephen A. Smith 'surprised' by Shannon Sharpe-Skip Bayless sendoff
Stephen A. Smith gave Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless their flowers for how they publicly handled their breakup.
Smith, who previously worked with Bayless on ESPN’s “First Take,” discussed on his FanDuel show the teary sendoff between the FS1 “Undisputed” partners from earlier this week.
“I’ll confess I was a bit surprised,” Smith said.
“I was surprised at the tears. I was surprised at the emotion. I’m quite sure some people out there thought it was fake as hell. I don’t feel that way.
“I know Shannon Sharpe a little bit. I know Skip Bayless very well. Everybody on the planet associated with the world of sports knows how far back Skip Bayless and I go with one another. And to be honest with you, I was really proud at the way they ended their time together.”
The Post first reported that Sharpe and Fox Sports reached a buyout agreement months after a couple of frosty on-air incidents during this past NFL season.
Smith said that he hasn’t talked to either Sharpe or Bayless about it, and intimated that there had to be some hard feelings with the show coming to an end after nearly seven years immediately following the NBA Finals.
“But I gotta tell you, it could not have been handled any better by Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless,” Smith said.
“When you depart in the world of business, that’s how you do it. I’ve departed a few places. I haven’t said much but I damn sure didn’t do it that well.
Stephen A. Smith said he was proud of how Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe handled their FS1 breakup. FanDuel
“Shannon brought up all the great points that he should have brought up, because it’s true, and there’s nobody on the planet that can relate to what Shannon Sharpe had to say to Skip Bayless better than me — and that is that Skip Bayless gave him the chance. Shannon Sharpe is never a part of ‘Undisputed’ if it’s not for Skip Bayless.”
Smith reiterated that he doesn’t know what happened between the two to cause the partnership’s dissolution.
Smith called Sharpe a “very significant player in this industry” now, despite not having been one in his time at CBS — and that he got there from his time on “Undisputed.”
Shannon Sharpe had a tearful goodbye to Skip Bayless and “Undisputed” on Tuesday. FS1
Smith has previously extended an invitation for Sharpe to join him in a weekly spot on “First Take.”
Source: New York Post
