“He’s a different animal!” Stephen A. Smith claims he wouldn’t have been the same person he is today if Skip Bayless hadn’t given him the opportunity at First Take

Shannon Sharpe left Undisputed due to his tussle with Skip Bayless. He will join First Take on ESPN.

“He’s a different animal!” Stephen A. Smith claims he wouldn’t have been the same person he is today if Skip Bayless hadn’t given him the opportunity at First Take

Stephen A. Smith (L) and Shannon Sharpe (R) (Via Imago)

Popular football podcasting show ‘First Take,’ will have a new co-host, Shannon Sharpe along with its regular host, Stephen A. Smith, from September 4. With the inclusion of Sharpe in the panel, industry experts expect the show to attract more audiences with a sharp analysis of games. 

Prior to joining, ‘First Take,’ Sharpe hosted Smith in the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee’s podcasting show, Club Shay Shay. Sharpe talked about his former colleague Skip Bayless. Smith also gave his opinion about Bayless, who worked with him till 2016. 

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In the interaction, Smith gave his flowers to Bayless by considering him a different kind of person. He also expressed his gratitude towards him for giving him the opportunity on First Take. Bayless recruited Smith into the show in 2012, and according to him, this opportunity changed his life completely. Smith said, “This dude’s definition of advice is diet Mountain Dew … He’s a different animal, you know, and there are highs and lows that come with him. He knows that.” 

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In addition to this, Smith said Skip changed his life for good despite the problems that they had. He played a pivotal role in Smith’s career as the main voice of the First Take. On Skip Bayless’ podcast, he has talked about the strained relationship between Smith and the ESPN officials. Bayless intervened and helped Smith to make a successful comeback on the platform.

Also Read: “They left me for dead!” Stephen A. Smith reveals the main reason why he wanted Shannon Sharpe on First Take while recalling how the industry cut him off in 2009

Shannon Sharpe will join Stephen A Smith at the First Take

Stephen A Smith
Stephen A. Smith (via Adweek)

Shanon Sharpe left Undisputed due to some differences of opinion with Bayless. The disagreement occurred last January when a tweet by Bayless triggered controversies. Skip also used Tom Brady to personally attack Shannon Sharpe live on the show. Seven or eight months later, Sharpe inked a deal to join Smith on First Take. 

Smith said he wanted to provide an opportunity for Sharpe so that the media industry would not forget him. He also assured Sharpe that First Take had a very good work environment where everyone worked together and backed each other no matter what. 

While discussing Sharpe’s situation, Smith brought up his situation. In 2009, he left a podcasting show, and for three years, he did not get any other gig. He did not want Sharpe to face the same consequence hence he wanted the Hall of Famer on his show. 

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