Stephen A. Smith Gave Simple Reason Why He Has No Relationship With Skip Bayless

Stephen A. Smith says Skip Bayless stopped returning his calls.
Stephen A. Smith says Skip Bayless stopped returning his calls. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless spent a lot of time together debating all the sports topics during their run on ESPN's First Take. In recent years, however, their relationship has fallen apart and it's not just because Bayless left ESPN for FS1 in 2016.

Smith, speaking to Cam’ron on a recent episode ofTalk with Flee, explained why he and Bayless "can't vibe" and it stems from Bayless not answering or returning his calls.

“When I say we don’t have a relationship, it’s not anything negative from my end,” Smith said. “It’s me letting you know, 'Yo, bro, I picked up the phone on several occasions.' He never called me back. To me, if you that kind of person, that doesn’t make you bad, it just means that we can’t vibe. Because I’m gonna answer a call."

Smith added:

“I got a lot of people over the last year or two that have really, really pissed me off. I’m picking up the phone if they call. There’s only one person that I won’t pick up the phone for, everybody knows who that is. Skip had his right not to pick up the phone when the whole Shannon thing was going down and that’s fine. That’s his prerogative. But live with that.”

Bayless is no longer with FS1 after leaving the network this past summer. You have to wonder if one day Smith and Bayless will sit down and hash things out between them, maybe it will even be on a podcast.

Until then, they apparently aren't vibing.


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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.