*Skip Bayless will step down from hosting “Undisputed” this summer, a year following Shannon Sharpe’s departure from the FS1 show.
Despite reports of past tensions between the pair, Sharpe chose to address Bayless’s exit with professionalism on his Nightcap podcast.
“I will be forever grateful for Skip giving me the opportunity. I want Skip to win. I wanted Skip to succeed, and Undisputed,” Sharpe said. “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.”
We reported earlier that Bayless is set to depart from his position as co-host of “Undisputed” at Fox Sports 1 after an eight-year tenure, the New York Post reports.
Scroll to continue reading
After Sharpe’s exit in 2023 following seven years with Skip, “Undisputed” became a rotating panel featuring Keyshawn Johnson, Michael Irvin, Richard Sherman, Rachel Nichols, and Paul Pierce. The new iteration failed to engage audiences as effectively as the firey one-on-one debates between Bayless and Sharpe.
Sharpe and Bayless launched FS1’s “Undisputed” in 2016, but growing tension between the pair allegedly prompted Sharpe to leave the show last summer.
Following Sharpe’s exit, F1 took a brief hiatus before returning with a new format. Despite the changes, it wasn’t able to dethrone ESPN’s “First Take” as the most buzzed-about sports talk show on TV.
Shannon joined Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s “First Take” in September 2023.
“I appreciate Skip going to bat for me, giving me the opportunity, but things happen,” Sharpe said. “So I don’t know what Skip’s gonna do. I wish him the best, but I don’t make the call.”
Watch his full remarks in the YouTube clip above.
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Skip Bayless Exiting ‘Undisputed’ This Summer
