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Shannon Sharpe appears to have supported a claim that years of jealousy by co-host Skip Bayless’ was the cause of their rift, which ultimately led to the NFL Hall of Famer leaving their ‘Undisputed’ sports debate show, according to The New York Post.
As first reported by The Post, news of Sharpe’s upcoming departure was revealed on Wednesday.
The NFL Hall of Famer has since hinted at what caused the dissolution of his working relationship with the controversial co-host.
As for the claim, Sharpe “liked” a tweet claiming jealousy was the reason behind his issues with Bayless shortly after news of the split.
“Their relationship got progressively worse over the last 2 maybe 3 years because skip fought for him to be on that show,” the tweet in question began. “But I feel like skip couldn’t stand Shannon succeeding without and that’s when skip was taking pot shots on air.”
However, Sharpe, 54, has yet to comment on the topic publicly.
Sharpe and Fox Sports allegedly reached a buyout agreement, according to The Post. The news outlet went on to report that Sharpe’s ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast will also no longer be aired on the network.
The former tight end reportedly told friends that he only wanted equal footing on the show in regard to Bayless in terms of the show’s topic selection. He never sought to take over as program leader, per The Post.
However, Bayless and Sharpe had apparently had issues for some time now before the latter’s recent buyout agreement.
The first signs of trouble appeared in January when Skip made an insensitive tweet regarding Buffalo Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin. Hamlin famously suffered cardiac arrest during a game against the Bengals on Jan. 2.
Skip had complained about the NFL postponing the game in question. Meanwhile, Sharpe and many other athletes slammed Bayless for his inconsiderate hot take.
He responded to Bayless’ tweet by skipping out on “Undisputed” the morning after. Bayless would go on to defend the tweet while hosting the show by himself, according to The Post.
According to the outlet, when Sharpe returned to the show the following day, Bayless proceeded to interrupt him while he shared his thoughts on the incident.
“I cannot even get through a monologue without you interrupting me,” Sharpe reportedly told Bayless.
Furthermore, Twitter users have also referenced a heated on-air exchange between Sharpe and Bayless that occurred weeks before Hamlin’s collapse.
Sharpe would eventually tell SiriusXM’s “The Adam Schein Podcast” that he and Skip “had a bad two months” and were no longer friends.
Sharpe took over for Steven A. Smith as Bayless’ co-host at FS1 after Skip left ESPN in 2016.
His final show is expected to air after the 2023 NBA Finals finish later this month.
