Undisputed had been airing any new episodes ever since Shannon Sharpe’s departure from the show, and the new episodes will resume only in August.
According to Front Office Sports, the daily talk show went on hiatus because Bayless and Fox Sports have been unable to find a replacement for the NFL Hall of Famer after his exit in June.
Sharpe and Bayless shared screenspace for seven years, having their back-and-forth on various sports topics. While there have been names mentioned in the form of Keyshawn Johnson and Max Kellerman — both of whom were laid off by ESPN recently, there have been no concrete developments. Other names included LeSean McCoy, Nick Wright, Emmanuel Acho, and Joy Taylor.
The report added that there was “reportedly a hesitancy among the candidates to partner with Bayless, especially when the longtime professional opinion-haver has the final say on all internal decisions for the show. It’s hard to walk into the arena every day when your opponent is pulling the strings and getting more money.”
It further suggested that Bayless was not happy to not be on air amid all the NBA developments, and the absence of Sharpe meant they had to go on a hiatus. “Skip has never done anything like this during all his years at FS1 or ESPN. Not being on the air during all these NBA moves is killing him.”
Undisputed is set to return on August 28 with a new season.
Sources Provide Grim Picture Of Skip Bayless’ Role On Undisputed
Soon after Sharpe’s exit from the show, inside sources who spoke to Front Office Sports have the inside scoop on Skip Bayless’ real role on the show.
“Nothing happens on that show without Skip,” the sources said. “They chose Skip over everything else. You can’t tweet about him, talk about him, anything – or they call you into the office,” said a source. “On ‘Undisputed,’ he makes all the calls, even when he’s off.”
It remains to be seen who Sharpe’s replacement will be, but as far as sources’ details go, things look challenging for Fox Sports and Bayless at the moment.
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