First Take and Undisputed are arguably the most significant shows on ESPN and FS1. Skip Bayless played a pivotal role in establishing each debate series. In the early 2000s, he influenced the executive producers of Cold Pizza to focus more on their debate segment called "1 and 10," which later evolved into a household platform that introduced African-American sports television personalities such as Jemelle Hill, Michael Smith, Rob Parker, The Two Live Stews and Stephen A. Smith. After leaving ESPN for FS1 in 2016, Skip campaigned with the executive producers, behind the scenes to take a chance on hiring Shanon Sharpe as his co-host, despite the NFL Hall of Famer's lack of experience in the debate format. The risk paid off as Shannon Sharpe became a superstar in the sports media, and Undisputed became a staple for FS1. When Shannon departed from Undisputed to join Skip's former co-host on First Take at ESPN, FS1 hired NFL greats Michael Irvin, Richard Sherman, and Keyshawn Johnson to replace him.
On Friday, Undisputed took their live show on the road to Boulder, Colorado, ahead of the Buffaloes' (3-1) highly anticipated game against USC (4-0). During the live broadcast, Skip, Michael, and Keyshawn were joined at the debate desk by Coach Prime, who took some time to thank Skip Bayless for providing so many Black journalists and former players with opportunities to flourish on the biggest platforms in sports media. Coach Prime also sympathized with Skip, who was admittingly raised by a Black woman named Katie Bell, for getting a "bad rap" from the public, from time to time.
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Source: Instagram
