Just one year later Shannon Sharp suddenly bolted from FS1's popular sports talk show Undisputedhis former co-presenter, Pass the Baylessis said to be calling it quits, with the show struggling to regain traction after Sharpe's departure.
The New York Post reports that the oft-hated and sometimes insufferable Skip Bayless has decided to call it quits after eight years of going back and forth with Shannon Sharpe and his replacements, Richard Sherman and Michael Irvin.
Unfortunately for Bayless, the public began to tune out after Sharpe took his talents to ESPN. In an attempt to shake things up, Bayless enlisted the talents of Paul Pierce, Keyshawn Johnson, Rachel Nichols, and even Lil Wayne to shake things up, but to no avail.
With ESPN First Take continuing to overshadow whatever was going on undeniable – thanks to the great personalities of Sharpe, Stephen A. Smith, and Molly Qerim — it was only a matter of time before Skip Bayless accepted that inevitable “L.”
Per the New York Post:
“Indisputable” ratings numbers were also hurt at the fringes, with Craig Carton's main show yet to reach the early-morning ratings “First Things First” had before moving to mid-afternoon, following “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd .
While Cowherd and Bayless were warned by their colleagues that they would be “lost” by leaving ESPN for FS1 in 2015 and 2016, both managed to make the switch as digital platforms like YouTube, X and Instagram their audience portable beyond linear TV.
It is expected that “Undisputed” will continue without Bayless.
For years it was rumored that Skip Bayless would eventually find his way back to ESPN, where he and Stephen A. Smith had an undeniable chemistry. First Take for years before Skip went to FS1 and started Undisputed with Shannon Sharpe, helping to catapult his star into another stratosphere.
Will entertain Skip a return to First Take? Would Stephen A. and Shannon Sharpe want to bring him into their circle, given the way things have soured between Skip and his former co-hosts in recent years? We doubt it, but you never know.
Skip's final show is said to be off later this summer.
Would you like to see Skip Bayless back on ESPN or are you all cool with him at this point? Let us know in the comments section below.
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