Speculation remains around the former “Undisputed” seven-year relationship between Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe, despite the three-time Super Bowl champion leaving the show in June.
With his new “First Take” colleague in Stephen A. Smith, Sharpe detailed the people and things he misses about the FS1 debate show, which didn’t include Bayless, Smith noted.
“I do,” Sharpe said in answering that he did know that he did not include his former cohost before further explaining that their relationship was only an in-office, professional one.
They did not interact much outside of work, making for something different from the other friendships he formed at the network and in the NFL.
He recalled one brunch they had together in their longtime relationship.
“Skip and I didn’t have the relationship that I had with the people that I miss. Skip would get to work, I would get to work,” Sharpe said. “I was in my dressing room. He was in his dressing room. It was really like a heavyweight fight. We barely talked … it was very little communication.”
The Hall of Famer said he believed this was because he followed the lead of Bayless and how he conducted his business, which didn’t involve much chatter in the morning, according to Sharpe.
“He’s treating this like an actual game,” Sharpe said. “I just learned he doesn’t want to be bothered, and I was okay with that.”
“I didn’t get the sense that’s what he wanted,” he continued. “I’m not a guy who’s going to force anything. If you show me you want to have a relationship outside work, I’ll accept that. If you want to have a relationship that’s strictly work and it’s confined to the two and a half hours when we are at work … I’m cool with that too.”
Still, Bayless and the show meant a lot to Sharpe, who had a tearful sign-off on his last show on June 15 and still expresses gratitude about his tenure there.
“I am very very grateful for the opportunity,” Sharpe added. “I would be remised and I can’t say it enough that he fought to get me on ‘First Take’ … I think I’ve been as humble and as gracious as I possibly could in giving him his kudos for that….
“Yes, I miss debating him, but it had gotten to the point over the last six or seven months and I won’t allow it to ruin the six great years that we had. But it got to the point that we needed to go our separate ways. I wished it could have been handled a little different, Stephen A. That’s the only that I wish.”
Sharpe’s “First Take” debut was on Sep. 4 and it set the record for the ESPN show’s second-most viewers for the year at 727,000 television viewers, ClutchPoints reported from SportsTVRatings.
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