It’s been many years since Skip Bayless left ESPN over a contract dispute. Since then Stephen A Smith has become the face of ESPN, much like Lebron James is the face of the NBA. Before his departure from the network Skip Bayless and Stephen A Smith made a legendary team on First Take that took the show to new heights. The big question is how successful was the show when it was just Skip Bayless? This has led to new turmoil between the two sports broadcasting superstars.
Is Skip Bayless Beefing with Stephen A Smith? Skip Bayless Disses Stephen A Smith For Saying He Saved First Take on JJ Redick’s Podcast
Recently Stephen A Smith was on JJ Redick’s podcast giving insight on the 28 year journey of his career. The part that stood out most was his view on how First Take became the top rated sports show for the past 10 years. During this portion of the interview Stephen A Smith claimed that he saved First Take, because its growth under Skip Bayless had halted. He even claimed that Skip Bayless begged him to join the show due to declining ratings. Take a listen.
It seemed like Stephen A Smith was being honest, but based on a new episode of the Skip Bayless Show he wasn’t being 100% real with viewers. Skip Bayless feels that Stephen A Smith turned on him by making the comments he made during his interview on JJ Redick’s podcast. He claims the words he spoke ‘blindsided him’, ‘stung him the core’, and made him angry. In fact Stephen A Smith made Skip Bayless’ wife Ernestine angry as well.
Essentially Skip Bayless said Stephen A Smith lied during JJ Redick’s podcast. He claims that First Take ratings were at it’s highest in 2011 the year before Stephen A Smith joined. In fact he claims that First Take ratings were on par with NFL Monday ratings prior to Stephen A Smith joining the show. Essentially First Take ratings actually went down after he joined show, which is the complete opposite of what he said on JJ Redick’s podcast. Take a listen.
Now that we have heard both sides of this story who do you feel is telling the truth? Skip Bayless has never talked about Stephen A Smith in a negative manner until today, so that speaks volumes. In the same breath Stephen A Smith has never talked down on Skip Bayless’ star power until the JJ Redick interview.
It’s inevitable that there will be more videos from both these superstars on this topic. It looks like we have a real hardcore Stephen A Smith vs Skip Bayless beef. Get your popcorn ready folks.
