“If you know me at all, I’m stubbornly proud to a fault.” No other quote from Skip Bayless has been so successful in describing his personality to a novice. In the 20 years that he has spent from working at ESPN to hosting his own show, the 72-year-old has emerged as one of the most controversial figures in sports television history. Washington Post reporter Rick Maese even went as far as to call him “the most hated man in sports”, and this was back in September 2013! Despite the respect that his own co-workers had for Bayless’s work ethic, even they did not choose to continue working with him any longer than they liked to.

A recent segment of the Fully Loaded podcast united two of Bayless’s previous ESPN co-hosts, former NFL wide receiver Cris Carter, and Stephen A. Smith, over for a discussion. Carter touched base on the ‘Tim Tebow incident’ that got so bad that he even threatened that he would punch Bayless “in the f—–g face.” To cool down, the former NFL player even went on to take a “hiatus” from ESPN.

Carter highlighted that no matter what he and others would think about Bayless, Stephen A. Smith was someone who held him in high regard. The sportscaster agreed, as having shared a friendship with him for 25 years allowed him to often see Bayless in a different light. Despite this, the Undisputed host’s previous antics even caused him to cut ties when the moment was ripe.

“We’ve only spoken once over the last year, a year and a half or so. We don’t speak much anymore. He got upset over something he thought I said to JJ Redick, and he went on his podcast and attacked me for about 45 minutes. And then I flew to California and approached him face-to-face, and we resolved that issue,” Smith said.

“I’m never gonna speak against him per se, but our relationship admittedly hasn’t been the same since that moment.” Stephen A. later added what it felt like being in other people’s shoes who were avid critics of Bayless, stating, “I’ve told Skip to his face, ‘You don’t say what you said about Troy Aikman.’ You don’t call Chris Bosh ‘Spice Bosh.’ You don’t come at CC (Cris Carter) like that…He’s arguing with you about a football point, so what you disagree? You don’t have to do that.”

The relationship between Skip Bayless and Cris Carter took a sour turn when the former reportedly crossed a line that Carter didn’t appreciate. Recalling the incident back in August 2024, he highlighted how both he and Bayless got into a passionate debate about Tim Tebow, with jabs coming in from everywhere. When the former player diminished the two-time BCS champion’s ability by claiming “Listen if throwing the football is important in the NFL, Tim Tebow will never be a starting quarterback,” Bayless replied with “Well, that’s why you didn’t win a Super Bowl.”

Feeling that this remark had nothing to do with the issue in hand, and was downright insulting, Carter waited until the cameras were off before saying “‘I’ll never be on your show again, and if you ever say anything like that to me again, I’ll punch you right in the f—–g face.'” Yikes! Ironically, as Carter left ESPN for Fox Sports 1, Skip Bayless would also follow sometime later, reuniting the duo.

Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless had a better relationship than Carter, as the ESPN sportscaster helped Bayless make the transition from radio to television by making him his first co-host of ‘First Take’ in 2012. Smith certainly knew what he was getting into as he would later state, “In terms of being hated, I don’t think Skip cares. As a matter of fact, in some instances, I think he takes it as a badge of honor. But I’m gonna tell you something that all of us should appreciate about Skip Bayless.”

However, a controversy arose in 2022 when Smith made some remarks, on future Lakers coach JJ Redick’s podcast, that implied that he alone was majorly responsible for the success of First Take. Bayless took offense and commented, “The ratings and the revenues were impossibly great when Stephen A. joined me in 2012.”

Smith later defended himself by claiming that the feud “is nothing more than a misunderstanding.” The recent remarks prove that the ‘misunderstanding’ was big enough to bring a fracture into their friendship. As a result, for anyone wishing to see the dynamic duo return will have to abandon their expectations.

Stephen A. Smith claims that he and Skip Bayless are done as a team: “I wouldn’t do that to my man Shannon Sharpe”

Back in July, a story from Front Office Sports started to make waves. The same carried a quote from a First Take insider, who closed any doors on a Skip Bayless-Stephen A. Smith reunion by stating, “We are set with the current First Take rotation, and wish Skip the best on his future endeavors.” The ‘Undisputed’ host wasn’t asked to come in, even as a guest speaker! The story soon caught the attention of Stephen A. Smith himself, who provided the final blow.

“I’m not going to front, y’all. I wouldn’t do that to my man Shannon Sharpe either,” said Smith. “That’s right, I said it.”

Before the three-time Superbowl Champion joined First Take, he served as the co-host of ‘Undisputed’ for seven years. However, similarly to Cris Carter, the NFL star took offense after Bayless made a comparison between his and Tom Brady’s careers. The fallout was enough to make Sharpe exit the show, adding another name to the list of television personalities who cut ties with the 72-year-old.

Despite the fact that he has alienated so many of his former colleagues, Bayless continues to amass a huge following, with over 3.2 million followers on X and 164,000 subscribers on his official YouTube channel. Therefore, other sportscasters may attempt to ignore it, but the 72-year-old analyst is not leaving the television broadcasting world anytime soon.