Shannon Sharpe is taking a brief go away from ESPN after he was accused of rape in a $50 million civil lawsuit on Sunday.
The 56-year-old, who seems on ESPN’s “First Take,” has repeatedly denied the allegations made by a Jane Doe that he sexually assaulted her in late 2024 and early 2025.
“My assertion is discovered right here and that is the reality. The connection in query was 100% consensual,” Sharpe wrote in a press release posted to social media on Thursday.
“At this juncture I’m electing to step apart quickly from my ESPN duties. I will likely be devoting this time to my household, and responding and coping with these false and disruptive allegations set in opposition to me. I plan to return to ESPN at the beginning of the NFL preseason.”
In a press release to The Publish, ESPN stated, “It is a severe state of affairs, and we agree with Shannon’s determination to step away.”
The accuser’s legal professional, Tony Buzbee, launched an audio recording this week wherein Sharpe will be heard telling the lady, “I would choke you in public.”
In a earlier recording launched earlier within the week, Sharpe will be heard telling the accuser, “in the event you say that phrase yet one more time, I’m going to f–king choke the s–t out of you once I see you.”
Sharpe’s legal professional, Lanny J. Davis, launched a collection of specific textual content messages he says had been despatched from the accuser to Sharpe, which Davis says illustrates the 2 had a consensual relationship that concerned “role-playing” and “fantasy.” He additionally stated the accuser costs cash for role-playing on OnlyFans.
One alleged textual content from the accuser, who’s greater than 30 years youthful than Sharpe, in October 2023 says, “I need you to place a canine collar round my neck and choke me with it when you’re f–king me.”
Davis additionally stated this week Sharpe, a Professional Soccer Corridor of Famer who performed for the Broncos and Ravens, and the accuser had been near a settlement price “not less than $10 million” earlier than she backed out. Sharpe claims the lawsuit is a “shakedown.”
Stephen A. Smith, the centerpiece of “First Take,” addressed the allegations on his eponymous podcast this week.
“I recruited Shannon… however I’m not the boss,” Smith stated, referring to when Sharpe left Fox for ESPN in June 2023. “These are other people. There are layers to this and there are specific layers that even I’m not on. I can let you know I additionally spoke to co-chairman of Disney, the boss, Jimmy Pitaro, who made it very, very clear that [ESPN is] taking this matter very critically and we’re wanting into this very, very carefully and as soon as we collect as many info as we probably can, we are going to go from there.
“And that’s all he stated. And I can point out his title as a result of I obtained his permission to say that. I don’t know what which means.”
