Steve Stoute has a challenge for all Black athletes: Stop speaking to Skip Bayless. The UnitedMasters CEO recently went on “Club Shay Shay” and spoke about ownership with the show’s host and owner, Shannon Sharpe.
“Over time, the whole working class idea of how you work has shifted,” Stoute said. “From the indentured servant, the slave, the employee to ownership. You’ve got to have ownership. This is [Sharpe’s] show, and I’m proud to do this with you because everybody’s seen what you publicly did.”
After wrapping up his Pro Football Hall of Fame career as a tight end in the NFL, Sharpe joined the CBS crew for their in-studio coverage. He then went to FS1 to launch “Undisputed,” a sports debate show starring Skip Bayless, who Fox grabbed from ESPN. Sharpe sat across from Bayless and created viral content for years, including wearing a LeBron James jersey and a goat mask to bringing a bottle of Hennessy on set to calling Julio Jones live on the air and having the star wide receiver admit he wasn’t coming back to the Atlanta Falcons. The show ran smoothly until one day when Bayless told Sharpe he was jealous of Tom Brady because he had to stop playing football at 35.
A few weeks later, Sharpe left the show, joined ESPN’s “First Take” for weekly appearances with Stephen A. Smith alongside with his popular digital shows “Club Shay Shay” and “Nightcap” with Chad Ochocinco.
“I like where I’m at right now,” Sharpe said to Stoute.
Stoute also told Black athletes to stop going on “Undisputed” to assist Bayless.
“I watch your ex-partner Skip,” Stoute said. “I don’t understand why all these Black athletes even go on the show now. I don’t even understand what they’re doing. To me, it’s so clear [Bayless] needs Black talent. Athletes, rappers, he’s doing everything to prop himself up. I know he’s getting paid over there, and everyone else is getting pennies on the dollar, and I’m like, ‘Why would you do that?'”
Stoute also said if Black celebrities stopped coming on the show for a month, the show would flop.
While discussing the importance of ownership with Shannon Sharpe, Steve Stoute calls out Skip Bayless and questions why Black athletes still go on Skip Bayless show, "Undisputed."
(🎥 @ClubShayShay ) pic.twitter.com/Yd4oKYjPBN
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) March 6, 2024
