As he faces a $50 million lawsuit for sexual assault, Shannon Sharpe is temporarily stepping down from his post at ESPN.
On Thursday, April 24, the 56-year-old former NFL player announced that he was “electing” to step aside from his duties amid allegations that he raped a woman in Nevada on two occasions.
“At this juncture, I am electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties,” Sharpe said in a statement sent to theGrio by his crisis management team. “I will be devoting this time to my family, and responding and dealing with these false and disruptive allegations set against me.”
The former NFL tight-end, who played for the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens, was regularly featured on ESPN’s morning sports debate show, “First Take.” The podcast host and football analyst said he intends to return to the network at the beginning of the NFL season.
“I sincerely appreciate the overwhelming and ongoing support I have received from my family, fans, friends and colleagues,” he ended the statement, which also included a link to a video he posted on Instagram denying the allegations.
On Sunday, April 20, a woman identified as Jane Doe filed suit against Sharpe in Nevada for sexual assault, harassment, battery, rape, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is also alleging that while they had a “rocky consensual relationship” for two years that began when she was 19, things took a turn when she attempted to end things. She is alleging that in addition to the harassment and Sharpe’s relentless pursuit of her as she she tried to distance herself from him, that he also raped her on two separate occasions.
In a response made through his attorney on Monday, Sharpe vehemently denied the allegations, calling them an attempt at blackmail. The statement also revealed explicit text messages shared between the two to further characterize the nature of their relationship and identified the plaintiff.
“This lawsuit, filed by [Jane Doe] and orchestrated by her attorney Tony Buzbee, is a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars,” said Sharpe’s attorney Lanny J. Davis. “It is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations — and it will not succeed.”
The statement explains the relationship between the two, which involved role-playing and fantasy scenarios, which the plaintiff “explicitly requested.” It further alleges that the plaintiff chose the legal route when attempts to blackmail Sharpe were unsuccessful.
In the video Sharpe posted, he asserts that Buzbee—who has been behind high-profile lawsuits against other athletes and Jay-Z—“targets Black men.” He also explains that since his brand is about honesty, he’s going to be “open and transparent.” He claimed the accuser was an OnlyFans model and identified her again. Sharpe further demanded that Buzbee release the full version of a video that the former tight-end is claiming has been edited to recolor the encounter between Sharpe and the accuser as nonconsensual. Sharpe ends his video by thanking his many supporters who have been fervent online.
Since news of the lawsuit broke, discourse online has swelled. Many staunch supporters see this as an attempt to extort money from the podcast host, or that he got “caught up” as he claims. Meanwhile, others see his culpability given the age difference and the seriousness of the allegations.
Among the ongoing commentary online, a clip from when the comedian Mo’Nique appeared on his podcast “Club Shay Shay” has begun to recirculate. In it, strikingly, Mo’Nique is imploring Sharpe to date women his age, a conversation at the heart of much of the discourse online about Sharpe’s situation..
“He didn’t listen,” commented a user on X.
