Shannon Sharpe says infamous Skip Bayless spat over Tom Brady led to his Undisputed exit as he admits being ‘really, really hurt’ by ex-TV partner: ‘He had lost ALL respect for me’
- During the argument, Bayless said Sharpe was jealous because Brady was a better player
- Sharpe has since left FOX and joined ESPN to appear on “First Take.”
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Shannon Sharpe has opened up about the on-air feud with Skip Bayless that led to his sudden departure from FOX Sports and the show Undisputed.
Sharpe and Bayless spent seven years together on Undisputed before the former left earlier this summer to join rival ESPN show First Take, with new colleague Stephen A. Smith claiming he was “pushed out.”
However, during an appearance on Smith’s podcast, Sharpe reflected on an infamous feud with Bayless that damaged their relationship and set the wheels in motion for his departure.
At the moment in question, Bayless insinuated that the former Broncos tight end was jealous of Tom Brady’s success, before rubbing salt in the wounds by saying he simply wasn’t as good a player as the NFL legend.
“A lot of that is my fault,” Sharpe said when Smith asked him about the rift in his relationship with Bayless.
Shannon Sharpe (right) has spoken out about the on-air feud with Skip Bayless (left) that led to his sudden departure from FOX Sports
Sharpe shed light on the incident that ended his tenure at Undisputed in a conversation with new First Take colleague Stephen A. Smith
‘Because there were moments leading up to that when I felt like there were shots and I let it go. And he felt he could go over the top in that situation.
Whatever the relationship, if one partner loses respect for the other, the other partner in turn loses respect for that partner. Then I guess it’s only a matter of time.
“Because I felt at that moment that he (Skip Bayless) had lost all respect for me, he had no respect for me.
“This is undisputed, Skip and Shannon, this is not yours. So it really hurt me a lot.”
Sharpe is one of the most legendary tight ends in NFL history and a Hall of Famer, so it shouldn’t be hard to see why a statement like Bayless’s on live TV would affect Sharpe to such an extent have triggered.
Since his famous departure, Sharpe has joined ESPN and has appeared regularly with Smith on the show “First Take.”
During the argument, Bayless said Sharpe was jealous because Tom Brady was a better player
He and Bayless got into a heated argument live on Undisputed last December
Despite seeming to get along much better as friends than he ever did with Smith than he ever did with Bayless, Sharpe’s transition to ‘First Take’ wasn’t the smoothest.
Several times, viewers have heard his case for accidentally calling Smith “Skip” on air, to the point that Smith recently stood up to X to defend his co-host.
Bayless and Undisputed, on the other hand, took some time off and eventually replaced Sharpe with a rotating group consisting of Lil Wayne, Keyshawn Johnson and Richard Sherman.