Dan Le Batard knows that he has a habit of discussing media matters — particularly as they relate to high profile figures such as Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless.
“I talk about this stuff probably too much,” Le Batard said during the postgame show of Wednesday’s episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. “But while people complain that I talk about it too much, also in numbers it shows that every time I talk about any of this stuff, there are a whole lot of people interested in the dynamics of our industry. More so than most of the subjects that I tackle.”
So with that, Le Batard proceeded to opine on the ongoing feud between Smith and Bayless, which has been reignited by Shannon Sharpe’s move from Bayless’ Undisputed to Smith’s First Take. And in doing so, the Meadowlark Media co-founder made a bold proclamation regarding Smith’s intent when it comes to his former co-host.
“I want to talk about the war at the top of this industry between Skip Bayless and his protégé,” Le Batard said. “Stephen A. Smith wants to end Skip Bayless’ career.”
Le Batard noted that while it was Bayless who put First Take on the map, it was Smith who took the show to another level. In the process, Le Batard says Smith outgrew his co-host while becoming one of the most powerful figures at ESPN.
In 2016, Bayless left ESPN for FS1’s rival show Undisputed, which he co-hosted with Sharpe until last month. The defection of Sharpe — who has had his own personal issues with Bayless — has only widened the gap between the ESPN and FS1 entities, which both Smith and Sharpe haven’t been shy to publicly remind Bayless about.
Le Batard, for one, isn’t surprised at the impact that Sharpe’s jump to ESPN has had on both shows.
“And I told you when this happened — Shannon Sharpe is more valuable to Skip at this point than Skip is to Shannon. Now Shannon’s an individual entity,” Le Batard said. “He realizes, ‘Wait a minute, my brand is strong enough, I don’t need the networks.'”
Still, there’s a big gap between a professional — and even a personal — rivalry and wanting to end a colleague’s career. But considering Sharpe’s hints at succeeding Smith and the assertion that First Take‘s dominance would continue in such a scenario, perhaps Le Batard isn’t too far off.
[The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz]
