Nearly a decade after they last appeared on First Take together, Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless are set for a reunion according a new report.
The pair worked on the show together from 2012-16, revolutionizing the sports debate format before Bayless joined Undisputed at Fox Sports.
Now, fans will be able to see them together once again, as Bayless recorded an episode of his podcast this week with Smith, according to Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel.
The episode of the ‘Skip Bayless Show’ is reportedly set to come out early next week.
Smith, who remains at ESPN, and Bayless, who left Fox Sports in August, have not been on air together since their last First Take episode as a pair in June 2016.
Smith referred to Bayless as his ‘brother’ in a 2022 post to X.
Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless are reportedly set to reunite on the latter’s podcast
Smith and Bayless were previously colleagues on ESPN’s First Take from 2012-16
‘I will always love this man and I will always be grateful. No matter how far I continue to climb, I have him to thank,’ he said.
The post came after a ‘misunderstanding,’ in the words of Smith, after he appeared to suggest he was primarily responsible for First Take’s sky-high ratings.
‘Skip Bayless comes to me in the parking lot of ESPN’s campus in Bristol, Connecticut, and he says, ‘I know you’ve got your plans. You love the NBA. You love being out on the road. You love being in the locker room. But I need you,’ Smith recalled on the ‘The Old Man and the Three’ podcast in 2022.
‘I’ve done all that I could to take this as far as it can go. I need you, please. Just give me three years. I think we’ll knock it out of the park.”
Bayless later shot back on his own show.
‘Stephen A. was suggesting that he saved and then made First Take. How can you save and make a show that was already as big a billion to one success story as ESPN had ever seen? The ratings and the revenues were impossibly great when Stephen A. joined me in 2012,’ Bayless said.
Smith later said on the ‘Talk With Flee’ podcast this past December that he and Bayless did not have a relationship, with the ESPN star noting that Bayless had simply not returned his calls. Smith added ‘it’s not anything negative from my end.’
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Skip Bayless mocked for giving dating advice with wife after being named in bombshell Fox lawsuit
Two months ago, it emerged that Bayless was part of a bombshell 42-page lawsuit that alleges he used his position to ‘sexually harass women’ and ‘inappropriately touched’ a hairstylist who worked on his show.
Noushin Faraji, who says she worked at Fox Sports from 2012 to 2023, made a series of stunning allegations – first reported by Front Office Sports – including that Bayless offered her $1.5m to have sex with her and gave her ‘lingering hugs and kisses’ on multiple occasions.
Fox Sports Executive Vice President of Content Charlie Dixon is also accused of inappropriate behavior in the lawsuit, while Joy Taylor was accused of using sexual relationships with others at the network – including Dixon – to further her own career.
Bayless and Taylor have both denied the allegations against them, according to The Athletic.