is this the end of Skip Bayless?
Shannon Sharpe was absent from FS1’s “Undisputed” Tuesday, leading to speculation that his relationship with embattled co-host Skip Bayless is at a nadir.
Their tense exchange at the start of the show Wednesday will only further stoke speculation of a rift between the two.
Sharpe opened his monologue about how Bills safety Damar Hamlin experiencing cardiac arrest on the field Monday night affected him differently than other injures he’s seen during his Hall of Fame NFL career and subsequent time in the media.
“There has been a lot of speculation of why I wasn’t on-air yesterday, and I won’t get into speculation or conjecture and innuendo, but I will say this: in watching that game on Monday night, what happened to Damar Hamlin struck me a little different,” said Sharpe. “As a brotherhood in the NFL when injuries happen, and we know injures are a part of the game, but I’ve never seen anybody have to be revived and fight for their life on the field.”
Then Shape addressed Bayless’ controversial tweet, in which he questioned how the NFL would postpone Bills-Bengals moments after Hamlin was given CPR on the field and taken away in an ambulance. “No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game - but how?,” he wrote. “This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome ... which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”
Sharpe said he hopes Bayless deletes his tweet. “Skip tweeted something and although I disagree with the tweet, and hopefully Skip will take it down,” he said.
Bayless then interrupted. “Timeout, I’m not going to take it down,” he said. “I stand by what I tweeted.”
Bayless’ ill-timed interjection prompted Sharpe to complain about repeatedly getting interrupted on the show. “I cannot even get through a monologue without you interrupting me,” he said. “I didn’t want yesterday to get into a situation where Damar Hamlin was the issue. We should’ve been talking about him and not getting into your tweet. That was what I wasn’t going to do, but you can’t even let me finish my open monologue.”
After some more tense back-and-forth, Sharpe hit his pen on the desk, and said it was time to start the show.
The duo then went on to discuss LeBron James, as sports talkers do.
On Tuesday, Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy reported that Sharpe and Bayless’ relationship is at an “all-time low.”
Within the article, McCarthy cites examples of seemingly personal clashes between Sharpe and Bayless. During one segment last month, Bayless dismissed Sharpe’s playing career when discussing Tom Brady. Keep in mind: Sharpe won three Super Bowls and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“(Brady’s) still playing at a high level at 45, when you had to stop at 35,” said Bayless.
Sharpe’s annoyance was palpable. “Every time I call something into question, I’m jealous…Skip, I did what I did. You make it seem like I was a bum! I’m in the effing Hall of Fame. I’ve got three Super Bowls,” he said.
This does not sound like a happy couple.