Skip Bayless And The Historic Yet Predictable Fall Of "Undisputed"

Skip should have never poked the bear with Shannon Sharpe.
Skip Bayless rose through the ESPN ranks in impression fashion throughout the mid-2000s. Overall, he made his mark with the show Cold Pizza. This would act as a precursor to the morning debate show format we know today. Although Bayless was a success at ESPN, it wasn't until he linked up with Stephen A. Smith on First Take that he became a real sensation. Both of these men became superstars at the network, with Smith being seen as the reasonable one. As for Bayless, he was known as a tried and true hater who would say anything, even if he didn't believe it. If something fit his narrative, he would run with it. This was especially true as it pertains to LeBron James, whom he is still perversely critical of. Eventually, Bayless left First Take in 2016 to pursue a role at FS1. The network was trying to build its sports programming, and Bayless was going to be their cash cow. He created the show Undisputed and hired Shannon Sharpe as his right-hand man. It was the perfect marriage as you could tell the two had phenomenal on-camera chemistry. With Sharpe's hilarious personality and wealth of experience as a professional athlete, he was the perfect person to subdue Bayless' cantankerous energy. This was the case for almost seven years, as Bayless and Sharpe combined for some truly hilarious moments. In fact, for a while, Undisputed was seen as the superior draw to First Take. Max Kellerman and Stephen A. were mediocre at best together, and the ratings reflected that. FS1 was slowly but surely creeping up on ESPN's empire. Things were looking good. Sharpe was a sports media darling, and Skip was cementing himself as a legend of the industry. Sure, he has never been agreeable, but that is the huge selling point with Bayless. Unfortunately, he eventually let that aforementioned cantankerous energy get in the way of a good thing. After years of being cordial with Sharpe, Skip decided to undo seven years of goodwill with one bad show. During a debate about Tom Brady no longer being a good quarterback, Skip told Shannon that he was just jealous of Tom for being a better player than him. When Sharpe raised his voice in disbelief, Skip told him to put his glasses back on which in retrospect, felt like Skip pressing the red button Drake loves to talk about so much. In the weeks and months following that broadcast, it was becoming clear that Skip and Shannon no longer liked each other. They could barely look each other in the eyes, and it the audience could tell things were getting tense. Consequently, it was absolutely no surprise when Shannon revealed that he would be leaving the show. In June of last year, Sharpe had his final broadcast with Undisputed and it was here where he delivered a lengthy monologue, thanking Bayless for giving him the opportunity. It was a classy gesture on Sharpe's part that fans felt was unnecessary given the fact that Bayless wouldn't have extended the same courtesy.

Once Sharpe left Undisputed, the show went on a hiatus as they looked for a new co-host. Meanwhile, Sharpe was being approached by everyone. After all, he's an incredible talent, and media companies knew good and well that Skip had made a huge mistake. In the end, Sharpe opted to sign on with Stephen A. Smith and First Take for a two-days-per-week contract. This would allow Sharpe to stay on TV while also having the time to work on Club Shay Shay. In fact, things have worked out so well for him in this regard, that he now has one of the most viewed interviews in the history of YouTube, thanks to Katt Williams. Had it not been for Bayless' bruised ego and misplaced pride, that may have never happened.