Stephen A. Smith had a gracious reaction when Shannon Sharpe got upset at himself for another ‘Skip’ mix-up

Shannon Sharpe made his debut on ESPN’s First Take last week after spending seven years debating alongside Skip Bayless on FS1’s Undisputed. And some habits are tough to break after seven years.

In his first show — which was a massive ratings success — Sharpe made the mistake of addressing Stephen A. Smith as “Skip.” After all, it made sense. Sharpe had so many repetitions with debating Bayless that a slip-up seemed inevitable.

But when it happened again a week later, Sharpe was upset with himself, and that frustration clearly showed during Tuesday’s edition of First Take. Yet, it was great to see how Smith handled the mistake.

Shannon keeps calling Stephen A. Smith “Skip” 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/C4UHxQ4gqF

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 12, 2023

As nauseating as it can be to watch performative sports debate on TV, ESPN makes a huge investment in Smith for a reason. He’s a pro, and he jumped in there to pick up his new colleague. Smith knows first hand what it was like to spend years debating against Bayless, and on live TV, people misspeak.

Rather than piling on Sharpe for the repeated error, Smith was gracious and helped Sharpe get back on track in the discussion. Viewers particularly enjoyed how Smith handled that situation.

This was how Twitter reacted

I love how Stephen A is handling it though!!!! He’s a real one for sure!!! https://t.co/H2FesTaSO6

— Jim, James, Jimothy (@HalBateman4) September 12, 2023

SAS's response is what made him more valuable than Skip. That's good hosting right there https://t.co/JocSMJ1jly

— Busters Banking Associate (@BrownsAlchemy) September 12, 2023

I love how Stephen A is understanding 💯 7 years is a long time https://t.co/0INdMqptbL

— sir pearler the first 👹🧪 (@jaytoofresh24) September 12, 2023

This ain’t even a big deal 😂. After working at the radio station for 8 years, I def answered my cell like “95.7 Jamz, wassup!” a few times https://t.co/0VmCy7WFV7

— “Get this out to the Recruits!” (@FunnyMaine) September 12, 2023

S/O to @stephenasmith understanding and having Shannon’s back as he tries to transition from doing undisputed All these years 💯 https://t.co/N4Ump38zaD

— Young Heavy♠️👑 (@YoungHeavy24) September 12, 2023

That’s a man that cares about his professionalism and respects others.

Clearly a mistake with no bad intentions but he’s mad at himself. https://t.co/u100pXii5j

— Jun (@AmazhangAsian) September 12, 2023

Stephen A worried he gonna break the table 😂 https://t.co/EYw5iodjoO

— Old Man Perez (@IolaElla) September 12, 2023

Hahahha it’s okay Shannon!! Skip really just rolls off the tongue! Thank you Stephen A for your patience here!

But yeah he really must not have liked him or something to be that upset 😂 https://t.co/QemhCsjoDH

— Ty ✨ (@tcrxviii__) September 12, 2023

Stephen A just legally change to Stephen A Skip. Problem solved. https://t.co/SW3IiCW09Q

— Comedian Day Day (@daypeacecomedy) September 12, 2023