by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 14, 2023

Shannon Sharpe Makes Tearful Exit During His Last On-Air Appearance For ‘Undisputed’

NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe has hosted his last episode of Undisputed. On his way out, he tearfully thanked Bayless an for letting him be part of the daily sports debate show.

The relationship between Sharpe and Bayless had recently grown contentious. It was previously reported that Sharpe (as well as his popular podcast, Club Shay Shay) would be leaving Bayless and Fox Sports after the NBA Finals ended, which took place on June 12, 2023.

Sharpe’s last appearance was the next day. In his farewell speech, he thanked the controversial Bayless for allowing him to share the spotlight of the daily debate show.

“Skip Bayless. You fought for me, brother. I’m here because of you. You allowed me to share the stage with you. You allowed me to share the platform. I’m going to cry in the car but I’m not going to cry now. The opportunity that you gave me to become what I became, I’m very indebted to you. I’ll never forget what you did for me. You’ve helped me grow more than you’ll ever know. All I ask is when you lay your head on that pillow at night, know I gave everything I had,” he said.

Bayless responded by acknowledging the great work that Sharpe did on Undisputed, although he referred to him as an adversary instead of a hosting partner.

“I want to thank you for dedicating yourself to this job,” Bayless said. “It is a voracious beast of a show, day after day after day. You dedicated yourself to this job just the way you dedicated yourself to professional football as a Hall of Famer. I want to thank you for never taking a sick day. I want to thank you for preparing as hard as you could, every single day. Every single topic. I want to thank you for competing as hard as you competed with me. Because the greatest compliment I can give you is you were a worthy adversary.”

No reason has been given for Sharpe’s departure.

Before joining Undisputed, the 54-year-old Sharpe was on the ESPN morning debate show First Take with superstar sports provocateur Stephen A. Smith in 2016.


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