Shannon Sharpe was incensed after Skip Bayless interrupted his opening statement and refused to delete his tweet regarding Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
It was noticeable when NFL analyst Shannon Sharpe was absent from Tuesday’s episode of Fox Sports 1’s Undisputed. Wednesday was not much better.
Upon the show’s start, Sharpe began speaking about the horrible incident involving Buffalo Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin and brought up how the incident shook him as the ordeal reminded him of his brother Sterling, who suffered a neck injury that ultimately ended his career.
"“There’s been a lot of speculation about why I wasn’t on air yesterday and I won’t get into speculation, conjecture, innuendo, but I will say this: In watching that game Monday night, what happened to Damar Hamlin struck me a little different,” Sharpe said on the FS1 broadcast of the show. “As a brotherhood in the NFL, when injuries happen, we know injuries are part of the game. I’ve seen guys suffer (torn) ACLs, an Achilles tear, but I’ve never seen anybody revived or have to fight for their life on the field. So it struck me a little differently because I remembered seeing my brother (Sterling Sharpe) paralyzed on the field temporarily, and he was able to regain focus.“Skip tweeted something, and although I disagreed with the tweet, and (hoped) Skip would take it down, but I didn’t want it yesterday — “"
That’s when the pleasantries ended. Bayless jumped in, refused to take down the tweet, and instead stood by what was said. Sharpe was upset not just because of the interruption but how it was said.
Fireworks to start Undisputed over Skip's tweet pic.twitter.com/CnMBvgUPP3
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 4, 2023
Shannon Sharpe gets angry over Skip Bayless being stubborn over Damar Hamlin tweet
Not only did Skip Bayless blatantly interrupt Sharpe, but he refused to delete the tweet and show compassion and remorse. No wonder Bayless was getting dragged on social media almost as much as he did when he first sent the tweet.
At this juncture, I think there's a real possibility that Shannon is going to need his own show and part ways w/Skip. I also think that Bayless will eventually touch the third rail like Jimmy The Greek once did, will lose his platform & be rendered irrelevant, even w/Social media
— Matt Wintner (@MattWintner) January 4, 2023
Shannon was def in the right here. The bickering and arguing are petty compared to the situation with Hamlin and what it means for the NFL and it’s players. Immediately needing to defend himself shows where Skips priorities are
— Tits McGavin Jr. (@SackedLife) January 4, 2023
I’ve never watched a minute of this show on TV but every time I see a clip on here Skip is interrupting. Must be brutal for Shannon lol. Pays well I guess.
— Kevin Kuzma (@Kuzmanomics) January 4, 2023
Unfortunately, it is what it is, and it’s doubtful that Bayless will ever bring himself to delete a controversial tweet. Here’s hoping he and Sharpe can move past this and come to peace.
But this was a horrific ordeal that Damar Hamlin is currently going through, and controversy like this should not ensue. It’s TV, though, so it’s bound to happen.
Somewhere, those who watch the ratings are doing so with wide eyes.