Stephen A. Smith ‘grateful’ for Shannon Sharpe but doesn’t seem to be thinking about ‘First Take’ reunion

In his time on First Take, Shannon Sharpe seemed to offer Stephen A. Smith an ideal sparring partner, willing to meet him with hot takes and loud rebuttals.

That era ended last year as ESPN severed ties with Sharpe after he settled a $50 million lawsuit over allegations of sexual assault. Sharpe maintained his innocence, but the entire episode was too much for ESPN to bear.

In an interview with Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy last week, Sharpe expressed his desire to return to ESPN and First Take.

“That’s not my call. I would love to go back if they were to call. Burke [Magnus], Jimmy [Pitaro], Dave Roberts. That is their call. But obviously, I’m more than willing, I’m more than capable. They see what we do here on Nightcap. They see the numbers that we generate,” Sharpe said.

FOS’s McCarthy also spoke with Smith and mentioned Sharpe. Smith said he was “grateful” for the work Sharpe did on First Take, but seemed to consider that era in the past.

“We talk all the time. He and I talk at least two or three times a month,” said Smith. “You know, I worked with him for a short while. I certainly didn’t have the lengthy relationship with him that I had with Skip Bayless, because I didn’t know Shannon like that. But regardless of the things that happened, he was always a good friend and a good partner to me. Whatever I needed from him for First Take, he did. He contributed to us having record ratings.

“And I’m going to always be grateful to that, just like I’m grateful to any contributor that contributes the way that he did. Ryan Clark, Swagu [Marcus Spears], Mina Kimes, Dan Orlovsky, Jeff Saturday, Chris Canty, Cam Newton, the list goes on. Kimberley Martin, so many people. Kendrick Perkins and Jay Williams and others. Brian Windhorst, let me not forget him. So many people have contributed to the success of First Take. And Shannon Sharpe was right at the top with the rest of them. He was fabulous for me. And I’m always going to be grateful to him. And I’m always going to be a friend to him.”

It’s pretty funny to see how Smith frames his time with Sharpe. Not as an equal but as a contributor, no different from any of the other people who infrequently sit across from him. Whereas Sharpe seems to think ESPN might come to their senses and bring him back into the fold, it doesn’t appear that Smith is pushing too hard to make it happen.

It’s also worth remembering that Smith had a very odd role in Sharpe’s final days at ESPN, saying at the time he was “torn” and acting as an intermediary for Jimmy Pitaro’s public comments. At the time, it seemed as if Smith had already moved on.