The long-awaited reunion between former Undisputed hosts Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe finally came this week, and both former colleagues blamed FS1 for their breakup, despite many contrary comments from Sharpe in the three years since he left the network.
It was a polite make-up between two of sports media’s most notorious recent enemies, but didn’t quite add up. After all, Bayless blew up at Sharpe during a memorable debate over Tom Brady in his final NFL season, and Sharpe previously said he and Bayless “couldn’t succeed at the same table.”
In a response on his 4th and 1 podcast this week, Cam Newton offered his own theory on the pair’s split, pointing to the terrible track record between Bayless and many active and former athletes across his entire career.
“When is Skip Bayless going to take accountability for disrespecting, discrediting, and trying to suppress people’s accolades and accomplishments as former athletes?” he said. “Why do you think the show ended? The show ended because you disrespected another man in front of the world.”
Newton listed Chris Bosh, Richard Sherman, Jalen Rose, and Cris Carter as just a few of the numerous athletes with whom Bayless had strong disagreements while working on television.
Carter has shared that he threatened to punch Bayless while they worked together.
As for the infamous disagreement over Brady in which Bayless hollered at Sharpe that Brady was “better than you ever were,” Newton said he would not have stood for the disrespect from Bayless in that moment.
“You’re taking the side of a person that you ain’t even met before,” Newton said, taking on Sharpe’s perspective. “And I work with you.”
In contrast, Newton noted, Bayless’ former ESPN cohost Stephen A. Smith almost always prefaces his takes by deferring to the former athletes on his show. While Bayless often hides behind his competitiveness when he defends himself over on-air flubs or moments when he has crossed the line, Newton emphasized the difference between entertainment and actual malice.
“There is a distinct difference between debate and challenging somebody else’s, just, way to them,” Newton said. “There’s countless times that we can look at and say, ‘Skip, you’re crossing a line.'”
Of course, Sharpe got the last laugh. Leaving FS1 arguably vaulted his career to another level, as he took his podcast business to a new level and became a contributor to First Take.
Newton noted the irony that despite talking down to Sharpe on-air, Bayless was forced to come on his show, Club Shay Shay, for the reunion.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is an Editorial Lead at Awful Announcing overseeing digital content and special projects. He lives in Phoenix and has covered sports media for Awful Announcing since 2023.