Shannon Sharpe made his ESPN debut Monday on “First Take” opposite Stephen A. Smith, but it did not quite go perfectly.
In Sharpe’s very first segment, he accidentally referred to Smith as “Skip,” a reference to his former FS1 co-host Skip Bayless. Sharpe realized his mistake immediately.
Shannon Sharpe repeatedly called Stephen A. Smith "Skip" during Sharpe's First Take debut Monday. Here's the first time he did it, in his very first segment: pic.twitter.com/TSUvbYsSOv
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 4, 2023
Amazingly, it happened again later in the show. Sharpe was even more embarrassed this time.
Shannon Sharpe keeps calling him Skip 😂 pic.twitter.com/dohoMDrfCb
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) September 4, 2023
“It’s been seven years,” Sharpe said, shaking his head.
As Sharpe alluded to, he spent seven years debating Bayless on the rival show “Undisputed.” Sharpe left that show in May, and the split from Bayless did not appear to be amicable.
Sharpe can be forgiven for reverting to muscle memory here. Plus, Smith seems to have Bayless on the brain as well, albeit in a different way.
