Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith formed one of the more successful sports talk shows on television during their time together on First Take on ESPN. The two had great chemistry on-air as they dished out hot takes and this culture on sports television right now of just saying the most outlandish stuff for ratings can be attributed to their success together.
Bayless would leave ESPN in 2016 for Fox Sports while Smith would go on to take over as the lead man on the show. He was recently on The Old Man & the Three podcast where he spoke about his relationship with Skip and he made the comment that Bayless had requested for him to join him on First Take and Smith insinuated that it was his arrival that made the show take off. Bayless took offense to these comments, stating that he was stung by them.
.@RealSkipBayless reacts to Stephen A’s recent comments on a podcast: pic.twitter.com/YvBeiymAZU
— The Skip Bayless Show (@SkipBaylessShow) June 16, 2022
Bayless called it “recklessly inaccurate” and “shocking fabrication”. He took great offense to the fact that Smith’s comments made it seem like he saved First Take when, as per Bayless, it was already at the very top. Smith responded to these comments with a statement on Twitter.
My only comments on this matter. pic.twitter.com/UXA1OBKYhx
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) June 16, 2022
“My only comments on this matter: I didn’t lie about a damn thing. This is nothing more than a misunderstanding. As I’ve stated on many occasions, Skip Bayless made First Take. He carried it on his back for years. And when he asked me to come on, he needed me because he carried the show on his back for years. He needed a permanent Host. He asked & chose ME.”
“Because of HIS decision, I’ve enjoyed the success I have. Because of him, I’ve become what I’ve become on ESPN. Skip Bayless is my BROTHER! I will always love this man and I will always be grateful. No matter how far I continue to climb, I have HIM to THANK. My comments about the state of First Take at that time is what I was told. It certainly wasn’t meant to slight my brother. I would never intentionally do that. The only sad part about that portion of this is that he appears to not know that……despite my consistent commentary over the years regarding how much he means to me. Check the record. The rest I will address with my brother Skip Bayless privately. Now if y’all would excuse e. I’ve got an NBA Finals to finish covering.”
Smith was quick to call the whole situation a misunderstanding, but it’s hard to not come away from them with the same conclusion that Bayless reached, that Smith was implying that his arrival made it the success it ended up becoming.
It remains to be seen if Bayless does respond to this publically after Smith did say at the end there, that he’ll have a conversation with his friend privately. These two are among the biggest names in sports television and it’s not a surprise that it has caught the NBA world’s attention.
