Someone probably needs to revoke Stephen A. Smith’s Internet access at this point.
The star ESPN personality Smith drew attention on Saturday with a petty tweet about his former “First Take” debate partner Skip Bayless. Without adding a caption, Smith shared an article by Front Office Sports about how Bayless’ ratings on FS1’s “Undisputed” were lagging behind Smith’s ratings on “First Take.”
Take a look.
No way Stephen A. Smith posted this 💀 pic.twitter.com/vzLMloufbD
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 2, 2023
Later in the day on Saturday though, the tweet was no longer visible as Smith had deleted it.
Smith and Bayless were co-hosts on “First Take” from 2012-16, turning the show into a cultural phenonenon (after Bayless had already been hosting it since 2007 with a rotating cast of personalities). But Bayless left for FS1 in 2016 and launched the competing program “Undisputed.” In more recent years, the relationship between Smith and Bayless has taken an ugly turn.
In fairness, Smith should indeed be out to run circles around Bayless in the ratings department. It’s just that people were not expecting Smith to say the quiet part out loud. But with Bayless struggling amid FS1’s new format, and Smith successfully reeling in Bayless’ old FS1 counterpart, Smith is probably feeling pretty good right about now.
