After seven years of service, Shannon Sharpe officially signed off on “Undisputed” today (June 13). The retired NFL player-turned-sportscaster got teary-eyed as he said his goodbyes during a live broadcast of what he declared to be his final show.
Sharpe did his best to thank each and every person he worked with during his time on the popular program — from the audio technician who gave him a mic each day to the front desk woman who would ask if he wanted pancakes and bacon for breakfast. After going through a long list of staff he appreciated, he fought back tears while thanking co-host Skip Bayless for believing in him. “I’ll never forget what you did for me. All I ask is when you lay your head on your pillow at night, know I gave you everything I had,” the tight end said as one of his final pleas to the person he shared the screen with.
“This definitely made a lot of grown men cry around the world. Especially me. This show will never be the same without you, Shannon. Thank you for all the memories,” one supporter wrote on the video in the official “Undisputed” YouTube account’s comment section. “Still can’t believe it, Unc. You’ve stood your ground and kept it 100 every time you walked on that set. That’s all a person can ask for. ‘I gave you everything I had,’ a quote I will take with me for the rest of my life. I appreciate you, Unc. I haven’t had a father since I was 18. Your quotes and ‘great-grandmother quotes’ taught me to be true to who I am, and don’t worry about how people feel about me. As long as I’m honest and trustworthy, then I’ve done my part,” another wrote.
The impact of his departure was also felt on Twitter. “Literally, this show made the mornings before school 10 [times] better. I can just remember laughing [every morning] to Shannon’s crazy [analogies]. I will miss Shay and this show so much,” one user tweeted. At the end of May, The New York Post stated Sharpe would be exiting after he agreed to a buyout with Fox.
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