Stephen A. Smith finally addressed the new lineup of Undisputed on FS1 featuring his former First Take partner Skip Bayless. Undisputed will now feature Bayless, Richard Sherman, Michael Irvin and Keyshawn Johnson following the departure of Shannon Sharpe.
On The Stephen A. Smith Show, the ESPN analyst expressed his unhappiness with the new lineup. He explained that he's happy for Skip and his new lineup but upset that ESPN didn't bring back Irvin and Johnson, as he wanted to work with them.
"I'm not happy," Smith said. "Skip, I'm happy for him, because regardless if we speak once a year, twice a year or once every five years, he's gonna always be my brother. ... I go back 20 years with Keyshawn Johnson, just as long with Michael Irvin. They are not just colleagues. They are not just friends. They are my brothers."
Smith added:
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"I want the record to show that I don't want my brothers unemployed. I don't want them off the air. I wanted them with me, but I'm happy if they landed somewhere else and that goes for Skip Bayless, too.
"I don't root against Skip. I just root to be better. I don't want him to fail. I don't want him to not succeed. I don't want him to end up being canceled and off the airwaves."
Bayless announced on Monday night that Undisputed is returning to the air on FS1 with a new lineup. He added that there would be a new theme song by Lil Wayne called Good Morning for the new episode on August 28, 9 a.m. EST.
Lil Wayne is also expected to have a segment on Undisputed on certain days of the week. Bayless will be joined by former NFL stars Michael Irvin, Richard Sherman and Keyshawn Johnson.
Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless were together on 'First Take'
ESPN's First Take has been on air since 2007, but it didn't have Stephen A. Smith as the main star. Skip Bayless was the star of the show before he brought in Smith to be his co-host in 2012.
The two had great chemistry together and proved to be a winning duo for ESPN. However, Bayless left the show in Smith's hands in 2016 when he left the network and signed with Fox Sports.