Stephen A. Sounds Like A Hypocrite Every Time He Talks About Skip Bayless and Max Kellerman | Bobby Burack

Stephen A. Smith is a hypocrite.

He proves that statement true nearly every time he mentions his two former debate partners, Skip Bayless and Max Kellerman.

Smith discussed his now-former friendship with Bayless this week during an appearance on Cris Carter’s "Fully Loaded" podcast. According to Smith, he called Bayless around December 2022 and told him he was "wrong" for how he treated Shannon Sharpe at FS1.

"To address the elephant in the room … I understand why a lot of people can’t stand [Skip]," Smith said. "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 [Carter] like that …He’s arguing with you about a football point, so what you disagree? You don’t have to do that.

"And I thought he was wrong about Shannon. I thought what he did to Shannon was flagrantly wrong. And I called him, and he never reached back out. So, I stopped reaching out."

Smith refers to a segment on "Undisputed" in which Bayless told Sharpe, "Tom Brady was better than you ever were" after Sharpe criticized Brady. 

Sharpe left FS1 in July 2023 and has since been a twice-weekly contributor with Smith on ESPN's "First Take." For over a year, Smith has blamed Bayless for costing Sharpe his job.

Fair.

However, Stephen A. did the same thing to Max Kellerman that he accuses Bayless of doing to Sharpe. In fact, Smith often brags about forcing ESPN to remove Kellerman from "First Take."

In an interview on the "Joe Budden Podcast " last September, Smith detailed that he requested ESPN kick Kellerman off the show for "over three years." Ultimately, Smith threatened to quit if the network did not acquiesce.

"I walked upstairs [to the boss] and said, 'If is so important to you, then give [Max] First Take. I will leave. Two hours later, I got the call he was being removed."

Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless, Max Kellerman

Smith said he felt for Sharpe after FS1 let him go.

"I have been let go," " said Smith. "I didn't want Shannon to feel that way."

Got it. Though Smith sure didn't mind if Kellerman "felt that way." ESPN let Kellerman go last summer after demoting him from "First Take," per Smith's order.

Further, Stephen A. claims Bayless "disrespected" Sharpe. Maybe he did. Yet you'd be hard-pressed to find any co-host television who disrespected their co-host more than Smith did Kellerman. Stephen A. frequently ignored Kellerman on set and questioned his credentials.

Stephen A. still questions Kellerman's today.

Smith told Budden that he, like viewers, had no reason to value Kellerman's opinion. "Max was not a journalist or an athlete. And the absence of the two components left people wondering ‘why should we listen to you?’"

See, Skip Bayless has spoken fondly of Shannon Sharpe since their breakup. Here is what Bayless told Sharpe at the end of their final show together:

"I want to thank you for all you have given to me. When I first took this job back in June 2016, we had a whole ‘nother format in mind until I heard ‘Shannon Sharpe is available.’ And I said ‘I believe he can do this.’ And did you ever.

I want to thank you for dedicating yourself to this job. It is a voracious beast of a show, day after day after day. You dedicated yourself to this job just the way you dedicated yourself to professional football as a Hall of Famer. I want to thank you for never taking a sick day. I want to thank you for preparing as hard as you could every single day, every single topic. I want to thank you for competing as hard as you competed with me because the greatest compliment I can give you is you were a worthy adversary.

"In the end I just want you to know that it was because of you, you made possible a very special time in my career. This is a happy-sad moment for me because I look forward to your next great achievement and it is coming. But tonight, I just want you to know – I will toast you with a diet Mountain Dew."

By contrast, Smith took Kellerman's final day on "First Take" off. He was on vacation.

Smith has spent the past three years dancing all over Kellerman's grave. He did so again this week, literally during the same podcast episode on which he criticized Bayless.

"Lack of chemistry," Stephen A. answered Carter when asked why he and Kellerman didn't work as co-hosts. "Believe it or not, it was more his fault than mine."

Got that? It's Max Kellerman's fault that Smith admittedly didn't respect him.

Look, multiple statements are true at once. 

"First Take" is more successful without Kellerman. The show has marked 24 consecutive months of year-over-year growth on linear television, a feat almost unheard of in 2024.

"Undisputed" lost around 50% of its viewership after Sharpe's departure, often averaging as low as 40,000 viewers per day. Hence, FS1 canceled this show this summer after parting ways with Bayless.

At the same time, Stephen A. and Kellerman didn't work as a pair because Smith had no interest in making it work as a pair. The audience disregarded Kellerman because Smith disregarded him first.

By all accounts, Smith treated Kellerman far worse than Bayless ever treated Sharpe.

Bayless does not talk negatively about Smith or Sharpe. Kellerman does not talk negatively about anyone. Sharpe has mostly taken the high road since leaving FS1. 

Then there's Stephen A, who won't stop talking about Kellerman and Bayless.

Smith is at the top of the industry. Kellerman and Bayless are not. Neither of them even have a job right now. 

Stephen A. won. However, he makes himself look so pathetically small by accusing Skip Bayless of doing to Shannon Sharpe exactly what he did to Max Kellerman.