Stephen A. Smith admits he was ‘surprised’ at Shannon Sharpe’s teary ‘Undisputed’ farewell

Stephen A. Smith has admitted he was surprised by the emotion between Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless when the NFL Hall of Famer made his last appearance on ‘Undisputed’.

Last month, the New York Post reported that Sharpe had reached a buyout deal with Fox Sports, with his last show following the conclusion of the NBA Finals.

And after the Nuggets wrapped up their series against the Nuggets on Monday night, Sharpe tearfully announced it was his last show the next day.

“I was surprised by the tears,” Smith said afterwards on his FanDuel show of the same name. “I was surprised by the emotion. I’m pretty sure some people thought it was fake. I don’t feel that way.

“I know Shannon Sharpe a little bit,” he continued. “I know Skip Bayless very well. Anyone on the planet associated with the world of sports knows how far Skip Bayless and I go back together. And to be honest, I was really proud of the way they ended their time together.”

“But I have to tell you, it couldn’t have been handled better by Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless.”

Smith and Bayless previously worked together on ESPN’s First Take.

And after seven years, Sharpe ended his partnership with Bayless earlier this week.

“You fought for me, bruh. I’m here because of you,” Sharpe told Bayless at his farewell show. “You allowed me to share the stage with you, you allow me to share the stage.

“I’ll never forget what you did for me… All I ask is when you lay your head on your pillow at night, know that I gave you everything I had.”

Bayless thanked Sharpe for his dedication to a “ravenous beast of a show.”

“You committed yourself to this job the way you committed yourself to professional football as a Hall of Famer,” said the 71-year-old. “I want to thank you for never being sick. I want to thank you for preparing the best I can, every day, every subject.

“I want to thank you for fighting as hard as you could because you were a worthy opponent. I want to thank you and tell you that I love you for what you’ve done for me.”

Though the couple ended on a positive note, their divorce comes after some tension between them in recent months.

Most notably, they clashed in January over Bayless’ opinion of the NFL’s handling of Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest.

“The NFL is no doubt considering postponing the rest of this game, but how?” Bayless said on Twitter just hours after Hamlin’s collapse on the field at Paycor Stadium. “This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is critical to the outcome of the regular season… which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”

Bayless’ comment about Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest caused tension on the January show

It remains to be seen who will replace Sharpe and what the future holds for the show and Sharpe

Sharpe was absent from ‘Undisputed’ the following day, saying he wished Bayless had deleted his tweet when he returned to the show.

Bayless also got personal in December when he compared Sharpe who retired at 35 to Tom Brady who played to 45.

‘I did what I did!’ Sharpe responded to Bayless. “You make it look like I was a bum! I’m in the Effin’ Hall of Fame. I’ve got three Super Bowls!”

Bayless didn’t back down and say, “So what?” He’s much better than you were.’

While Sharpe’s time at Fox Sports has come to an end, he’s unlikely to step out of the spotlight completely.

“You’ll see me again somewhere,” he said Tuesday. “I just don’t know where.”