Shannon Sharpe says he respects the players too much to be ‘reckless with my commentary.’

After nearly seven years on FS1’s Undisputed, Shannon Sharpe divorced Skip Bayless a couple of months ago and we await news of his eventual return.

In recent days, Sharpe has been teasing his looming comeback to the airwaves, which everyone expects to occur with ESPN, where Stephen A. Smith has heavily recruited the Pro Football Hall of Famer to First Take. Earlier this week, Sharpe tweeted that he will be back before the NFL season kicks off, although nothing official has been announced.

Sharpe also responded to a claim on Twitter that the sports talk discourse has gotten really bad with shows prioritizing getting a reaction over providing analysis. Sharpe didn’t exactly disagree, although he defended his own on-air style.

You know my wrk. I played and respect the game and players 2 much 2 be reckless with my commentary. I spent at least 4-5 hrs of prep time preparing 4 a 2.5 hr show. https://t.co/N8e6ztkCNl

— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) August 15, 2023

“You know my wrk. I played and respect the game and players 2 much 2 be reckless with my commentary,” Sharpe wrote. “I spent at least 4-5 hrs of prep time preparing 4 a 2.5 hr show.”

Noting that he respects the game and players too much to be “reckless with my commentary” appears to be a subtle dig at his former FS1 partner Skip Bayless. The relationship between Sharpe and Bayless ended following a tumultuous few months, featuring several on-air blowups, the height of which occurred after Skip’s untimely tweet about Damar Hamlin.

In the wake of Hamlin going into cardiac arrest during a Monday Night Football game in January, Bayless controversially wondered how the NFL could suspend a game with playoff implications. The next morning, Bayless was on Undisputed, but Sharpe was not. Sharpe returned after his unexpected absence and explained that he wanted Bayless to delete the tweet about Hamlin and the NFL, which sparked fireworks between the two hosts.

By skipping their show, Sharpe made it clear that he felt Bayless was being disrespectful to Hamlin and reckless with his commentary, something the Pro Football Hall of Famer vows not to do when he gets back in front of the camera.

[Shannon Sharpe]