Stephen A. Smith: Shannon Sharpe Was 'Pushed Out' from Skip Bayless' 'Undisputed'

Stephen A. Smith said his pursuit of Shannon Sharpe to join First Take came after the Hall of Fame tight end was forced out of FS1's Undisputed after a falling out with Skip Bayless.

"He was pushed out," Smith said on Joe Budden's podcast. "He didn't want to leave. He was notified that [his] services would no longer be needed."

Sharpe left Undisputed following the 2023 NBA Finals. He'd been with the program since its launch, earning FS1 its most consistently high-rated debate show while also seeing his star rise in the media landscape.

As Sharpe's fame rose, there appeared to be growing tensions with Bayless, who was viewed as the centerpiece of the show since its launch. Issues between the duo appeared to bubble over when Bayless made an insensitive post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in the aftermath of Demar Hamlin going into cardiac arrest on the field in January. The incident led to Sharpe missing a day of Undisputed and then a tense on-air interaction between the two.

While their kinetic energy with one another once made them a strong pairing, it was clear things had bubbled over to the point of no return. The combative nature of the show came across less as tongue-in-cheek and more as two people whose working relationship had run its course.

Sharpe left Undisputed for good in May and joined First Take earlier this month. Sharpe is set to appear on the Smith-centric program on Mondays and Tuesdays during the NFL season.

Bayless' new-look Undisputed launched earlier this month as well and has lagged well behind First Take in the ratings.