Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe have been running Undisputed for nearly seven years now. But as of late, the cracks between the two have begun to show.
In light of Buffalo Bills safety Demar Hamlin’s serious injury in Cincinnati, Bayless posted a tweet pondering the future status of the game and its implications.
“No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of the game- but how?” the tweet read. “This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome…which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”
Although he acknowledged the severity of the situation in two prior tweets, Bayless has created a firestorm online. The tweet has over 100,000 comments to 43,700 likes as of 2:00 p.m. Wednesday. Multiple athletes such as Darrelle Revis, Patrick Peterson, Damian Lillard, and Isaiah Thomas have condemned Bayless for the tweet.
Shannon Sharpe, a Hall of Fame tight end, was absent from the show on Tuesday, leaving Skip Bayless to host Undisputed alone. Before the start of Wednesday’s show, Sharpe was addressing his absence before things got testy between him and Skip Bayless. In his monologue, Sharpe mentions Bayless’ tweet.
Fireworks to start Undisputed over Skip’s tweet pic.twitter.com/CnMBvgUPP3
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 4, 2023
The result was a tense back-and-forth between the two before Sharpe cuts it off, allowing for the show to officially start.
The Shannon Sharpe vs. Tom Brady Comparison
This exchange is the latest in a perhaps alarming trend for the show. Heated moments can be common in debate shows such as Undisputed and ESPN’s First Take. Skip Bayless has had multiple moments when he was a co-host on First Take, along with then co-host Stephen A. Smith.
However, heated exchanges have been more common as of late. Before this in December, Bayless and Sharpe had a heated moment while debating Tom Brady’s performance in a game against San Francisco. While defending Brady’s longevity, Bayless compared him to Sharpe’s career, who retired at 35. It was already a flawed argument considering the difference between Brady as a quarterback versus Shannon Sharpe, a former tight end. But Sharpe is also a Hall of Famer, four-time All-Pro selection, and three-time Super Bowl champion. In short, it was a personal shot that does not have much merit to it.
Unc Shannon sharpe got pissed after Skip Bayless took at shot at him while talking about Tom Brady 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/Hddec3qI9y
— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY Account) (@shannonsharpeee) December 12, 2022
Needless to say, it was another moment that did not earn Skip Bayless a ton of grace with the masses.
Overall, whether the future of the show is in doubt remains to be seen. The two have been together on Fox Sports 1 since 2016 and have essentially become the faces of the network. However, moments like these are hard to ignore as well. Specifically, with two strong personalities such as Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe, more moments can manifest themselves. But it is not a good look for Undisputed or the network as a whole.
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