Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith Tori Lynn Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK

Stephen A. Smith deletes petty tweet about Skip Bayless

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated 9/3/23

Someone probably needs to revoke Stephen A. Smith’s Internet access at this point.

The star ESPN personality Smith drew attention on Saturday with a petty tweet about his former “First Take” debate partner Skip Bayless. Without adding a caption, Smith shared an article by Front Office Sports about how Bayless’ ratings on FS1’s “Undisputed” were lagging behind Smith’s ratings on “First Take.”

Take a look.

No way Stephen A. Smith posted this pic.twitter.com/vzLMloufbD

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 2, 2023

Later on Saturday though, the tweet was no longer visible as Smith had deleted it.

Smith and Bayless were co-hosts on “First Take” from 2012-16, turning the show into a cultural phenomenon (after Bayless had been hosting it since 2007 with a rotating cast of personalities). But Bayless left for FS1 in 2016 and launched the competing program “Undisputed.” Recently, the relationship between Smith and Bayless has taken an ugly turn.

In fairness, Smith should indeed be out to run circles around Bayless in the ratings department. However, people weren't expecting Smith to say the quiet part out loud. But with Bayless struggling amid FS1’s new format, and Smith successfully reeling in Bayless’ old FS1 counterpart, he is probably feeling pretty good right about now.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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