Years Before Rivalry, Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless Discussed the ‘NFL Message’ That Featured Colin Kaepernick

3x Super Bowl champion Shannon Sharpe and sports columnist Skip Bayless ended their professional ties right where they began. Before they locked horns on air, the former Denver Broncos tight end and Bayless indulged in a thought-provoking discussion. Mostly, they agreed to disagree. And this time the topic of discussion was Colin Kaepernick and his stints for social causes.

The Denver Broncos tight end bid an emotional farewell to his on-air journey with Bayless in June 2023. Despite this, the art of debating possessed by these outspoken personalities remains unforgettable. The 55-year-old athlete-turned-analyst and sports commentator once talked about the controversial fate of the former San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick.

Colin Kaepernick lost his career for what he believed in

Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless spent over seven years hosting Skip and Shannon: Undisputed. Before things went south between the two, the Pro Football HoFer and Bayless left some memorable episodes for NFL fans. In a 2017 episode, a discussion about the former NFL player-turned-free agent, Colin Kaepernick got fired up by a message that was displayed below the show’s screen.

It read, “Dough Baldwin: NFL owners trying to send a message by not signing Colin Kaepernick.” In 2016, Kaepernick’s NFL journey came to a rather regretful end. On the show, Bayless referred to the 49ers’ situation as “ironically unfortunate”. Sharpe, on the other hand, expressed that the 2xWAC Offensive Player of the Year ended up sacrificing his career for what he believed in.

Kaepernick took the 49ers to three NFC championships, almost bagging one Super Bowl. But again, the ‘kneeling NFL episode’ during the US national anthem against police brutality and racial injustice led to a different fate.

On this episode of “Undisputed”, Sharpe famously said, “Nobody is talking about this subject more than Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe on Undisputed. I defy you to find something I agree and we both were in agreement it’s not going to happen.” The start of 2023 turned out to be an entirely different year for this show.

What happened between the undisputed co-hosts?

Shannon Sharpe didn’t appear on Undisputed for one day and everything changed thereon. After his return to the show on Jan 4, 2023, the skilled blocker got into a heated debate with Skip Bayless. It was a confrontation regarding Skip’s tweet about Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin and his cardiac arrest on the field after making a tackle.

Also Read: While Skip Bayless Stays Away From Work, Shannon Sharpe’s Super Bowl Winning Replacement Finds Acceptance With NFL World

During the on-field incident, Bayless tweeted, “No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome, which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”

Shannon Sharpe argued, “What happened to Damar Hamlin struck me a little different.” When the athlete said, “Skip tweeted something, and although I disagreed with the tweet, hopefully, Skip would take it down. But I wanted …” Skip Bayless interrupted and expressed that he will not take it down because he stands by the tweet.

Sharpe also questioned not being able to go through his monologue whilst his interruption. The NFL HoFer suggested that they should be talking about Damar Hamlin’s situation instead of getting into the tweet.  The two potential faces of sports broadcasting hosted their last show together on June 13, 2023.

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