Shannon Sharpe did not hold back in his appearance on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” podcast, talking about his infamous December 12th debate with Skip Bayless on Undisputed that turned personal. Smith plays a clip of the moment, showing Shannon’s face watching the clip and then asked him to explain what happened.

Shannon presented his side of the story, talking about how much it hurt him that Skip disrespected his career in support of Tom Brady. He went as far as saying that he was close to “putting hands” on Bayless.

“Why would I be jealous of Tom Brady? I'm happy that Tom…Tom was like me: given an opportunity,” Sharpe said about the incident. “It took a lot. It took a lot for me not to put my hands on him. It actually did.”

Sharpe takes responsibility for the incident becoming what it became, as he said that he allowed Bayless to continuously disrespect him without having a conversation about it. 

Since leaving Undisputed in June, Shannon Shape has rapidly expanded his career. He joined ESPN’s First Take as a contributor on Labor Day and his Monday and Tuesday weekly appearances have been ratings hits. His appearances on the show  have routinely beaten out Skip Bayless and Undisputed by large margins in ratings and linear television viewership. 

Sharpe also announced a partnership with Colin Cowherd’s “The Volume” podcast network to bring the “Club Shay Shay” podcast brand to the network and expand the slate of shows. Already, Shape has created a live show with Chad Ochocinco called, “Unc & Ocho”.

Sharpe has been able to thrive in environments where he’s more supported and appreciated since his Fox Sports 1 departure and there is surely more success to come.