While most people are celebrating Skip Bayless’s current departure, Nick Wright is celebrating his contributions to sports media.
After spending nearly eight years as a pillar of daytime television on FS1, Bayless officially departed the network, with Friday morning’s episode of Undisputed being his last. Unlike Shannon Sharpe’s final day on Undisputed last year, Bayless’s last show was unceremonious. There was no mention of his past or future, just predictable discussions about Dak Prescott. Bayless, however, did confirm his departure with a social media post that fired off immediately after throwing FS1 to Colin Cowherd.
FS1 deciding to move on from the self-proclaimed “most hated man in sports media” has seemingly invited critics to dance on his presumable grave. But Wright chose instead to celebrate Bayless’s career.
A truly legendary run.
Very few people, in any industry, can say they helped create & define an entire genre.
Skip did that.
Salute & good luck in whatever he does moving forward.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 2, 2024
“A truly legendary run,” Wright wrote about Bayless. “Very few people, in any industry, can say they helped create & define an entire genre. Skip did that. Salute & good luck in whatever he does moving forward.”
And with that, Wright proved there is a world where LeBron James’ biggest fan and his biggest critic can come together.
Like Bayless, Wright joined FS1 in 2016. Wright has made several appearances on Undisputed to debate Bayless, although none of those came in recent years. Last year, Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reported Bayless didn’t want Wright to succeed Sharpe. Wright, however, recently told the Awful Announcing Podcast he had no interest in leaving his afternoon show with Kevin Wildes and Chris Broussard for Undisputed.
“There is not another show I would rather be doing,” Wright told Awful Announcing. “And everyone that works for me knows that…There isn’t a show that I would look at as a promotion. Like, I am doing the exact show that I want to do. So, this idea that. ‘Oh, that’s the next step.’ That’s not how I view it.”
“If I had gone to the bosses (at FS1) and said, ‘I want a shot at that job,’ do I think I would’ve gotten a very fair shot at it? Absolutely. I do think that.” Wright added. “It never crossed my mind. And that is, again, it’s only because of how happy and satisfied I am with what I’m currently doing.”
Wright is correct in noting Bayless deserves credit for creating and defining an entire genre. There was sports debate before Bayless and Woody Paige on Cold Pizza. But Bayless spawned the era of “embrace debate” in sports and even cable news, for better or worse.
Bayless’ schtick may have expired, his prominence may have faded, and his tenure at FS1 may have ended unceremoniously. But he spent decades as one of the most recognized personalities in sports media. And for that, he deserves credit.
