Skip Bayless' Days are Reportedly Numbered at FS1

Frank Micelotta. Shutterstock Images.

It is with a heavy heart that I bring you the sad news that Skip Bayless will be out at Fox Sports 1 in the very near future. Apparently his departure is due to illness; everybody got sick of him. [Emphasis mine]:

NY Post - Skip Bayless is leaving his role as co-host of “Undisputed” at the network after eight years, The Post has learned. 

His final show will be later this summer. …

It is the second consecutive summer that one of the pillars of the program has departed, as Shannon Sharpe left following the NBA Finals last year.

The new iteration, which featured a rotating group of panelists with Bayless, including Keyshawn Johnson (who is on just about every day), Michael Irvin, Richard Sherman, Rachel Nichols and Paul Pierce, did not capture audiences as successfully as had Bayless and Sharpe debating one-on-one for the previous seven years. 

It was going to be an uphill climb as Sharpe was arguably as compelling a debate foe for Bayless as Stephen A. Smith had been on “First Take” during his time at ESPN.

The show took a couple months off last summer following Sharpe’s departure and never regained the momentum.

I highlighted that one sentence because to me it says it all. It's OK not to be the Leading Man type. What the Zoomer kids refer to as Main Character Syndrome. Some of the best character actors ever were born only for supporting roles. And that's Skip. There's no shame in it. 

But Skip has always been a very specific type of supporting player. He's always fit in on TV as the Wacky Neighbor Who's Also an Irritant. Whereas a merely Wacky Neighbor will sometimes go be the lead of their own, highly successful spinoff series (think George Jefferson or Fraiser Crane), the Irritant could never carry a show. Because their whole identity is based on one thing. And that is getting an exasperated reaction out of the protagonist so hilarity can ensue. Think Urkel Or Al Bundy's neighbor Marcy. Or perhaps the best example ever, Kramer. No one ever wanted to watch 30 minutes of Cosmo Kramer going around bothering everybody with his insane antics. He was perfect as he was, flinging the door open to Jerry's apartment and injecting a little chaos into otherwise normal conversations about dating relationships and Superman. 

The same with Skip Bayless. Take away his Stephen A. Smith or his Shannon Sharpe, and the broad, comedic appeal of watching their facial expressions while he went on some bizarre rant, and what have you got? Just a garden variety imbecile saying unhinged, nonsensical stuff. It's why this worked so well:

Whereas this was just being a witness to elder abuse:

Plus he was still getting paid at the tail end of a four year, $32 million deal to host a show no one watches or ever talks about. Which can't have helped his cause any.

This is all still developing. And neither Bayless nor Fox Sports are talking. So we don't know what he plans to do going forward. Presumably there's still a market out there for a yammering goon with a bizarre, unhealthy fixation on the Dallas Cowboys. And a pure hatred for Lebron James. But as the internet is pointing out, Bayless is out, while Sharpe and Lebron are still in.

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 Which has to be the unkindest cut of all.