Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless reunite over pastrami on rye

A reunion to rival that of Liam and Noel Gallagher’s recent Oasis world tour was happening right in plain sight this weekend.

ESPN and SiriusXM star Stephen A. Smith met up with his old First Take sparring partner Skip Bayless at Nate’n Al’s, a Jewish deli in Beverly Hills. The picture was snapped by George “Riley” Panagakis and posted to social media on Saturday night. Seen in the photo are Stephen A. and Skip, who was there alongside his wife Ernestine.

I’m in Nat N Al’s famous Jewish deli having dinner and who’s 20 feet away? pic.twitter.com/YcxD11BEDs

— George “Riley” Panagakis (@grpwins) November 30, 2025

It is the first time the duo has been spotted together publicly in quite some time. In March, Stephen A. appeared on Skip’s podcast, the first time the two had appeared on the same show together since Bayless departed ESPN for FS1 in 2016. The podcast came amid a controversial period for Bayless as he sat embroiled in accusations of sexual misconduct stemming from a lawsuit brought by a former FS1 hairdresser. The lawsuit was settled earlier this year.

In recent weeks, Smith has gone out of his way to credit Bayless for the success of First Take, specifically when it comes to providing racially diverse voices a platform on ESPN.

“When it comes to Skip Bayless, something that never gets said to him or about him is about to be said now,” Smith said on a recent episode of his SiriusXM show Straight Shooter. “That man is owed an apology. From me. That’s my guy. And in the midst of talking about Cari Champion, and in the midst of talking about Jemele Hill and some of the things Jemele Hill alluded to, I was so busy clapping back for a damn change and defending myself that I dropped the ball. I neglected to do what I always do, which was give the true credit where it’s due. And that’s to that man, Skip Bayless.”

“When Cold Pizza was rebranded as First Take in 2007 and Skip was sitting across from people debating,” Smith continued. “Jemele Hill was one of those people. Michael Smith was one of those people, the 2 Live Stews, Chris Broussard was one of those people. Rob Parker was one of those people…let’s be very, very clear, diversity was always important to Skip.”

It seems in the past year, Smith and Bayless have turned the page on their relationship. Just last year, Smith discussed his troubled relationship with Bayless, suggesting he wouldn’t pickup the phone if he called. “I got a lot of people over the last year or two that have really, really pissed me off. I’m picking up the phone if they call. There’s only one person that I won’t pick up the phone for, everybody knows who that is,” Smith said referring to Bayless.

Whatever has happened in the past 12 months has proven positive for the two sports debate pioneers, at least in terms of their relationship with one another.

And for those wondering what Stephen A. and Skip ordered at the deli, it seems someone will have to ask.