Shannon Sharpe’s future at ESPN is in question.
Sharpe, 56, is facing a $50 million lawsuit from an ex-girlfriend who accused him of raping her in her apartment in October and January. He has vehemently denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit a “shakedown.” On Tuesday, Sharpe’s lawyer said he previously tried to settle with the woman for “at least” $10 million.
*DISCLAIMER* Some of the shared texts that follow are vulgar and/or sexually violent in nature.
This week, the Jane Doe’s lawyer released an audio clip to TMZ in which Sharpe threatens to “choke the shit out” of his client over a disagreement.
And while Sharpe’s attorney published a series of text messages showing the woman asking for sex, an exchange also included a text from Jan. 2 showing the accuser telling Sharpe, “no means no.”
“But I cried when u left because I begged you to put a condom on and not put it in my ass and u didn’t listen,” the woman, who was 19 at the time, texted him. “I don’t care what our history is, no means no shannon.”
Shape has since uploaded a video to social media, daring the accuser to release a “full” sex tape of the two and accusing the lawyer of targeting black men:
According to the New York Times, Sharpe faces a separate lawsuit in New York filed in 2023. In that suit, another ex-girlfriend accuses Sharpe of sexually assaulting her during an argument in 2010.
Regardless of the outcome of either lawsuit, ESPN sources have expressed doubt that Sharpe will return to the network. The sources referenced how ESPN dismissed Michael Irvin, whom Sharpe replaced on “First Take,” in 2023 after a woman accused him of sexual misconduct during the week of Super Bowl LVII.
Irvin has not appeared on ESPN since, despite Stephen A. Smith campaigning for Irvin’s return. Smith, who also serves as an executive producer of “First Take,” was less adamant about Sharpe’s future when discussing the topic on Tuesday.
“I know, and I can tell you all I spoke to Shannon, not in details, but I spoke to him, and he emphatically proclaims his innocence. According to Mr. Buzbee, his client emphatically proclaims his guilt. So where does that leave us? I’d love to tell you I know the answer to that question, but I don’t,” Smith said on his podcast.
Smith added that he has spoken to ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro about Sharpe’s standing with the company following the lawsuit.
“[Pitaro] made it very, very clear we are taking this matter very seriously, and we are looking into this very, very closely. And once we gather as many facts as we possibly can, we will go from there.”
ESPN’s decision to hire Sharpe was questionable from the start. His stints at CBS Sports and FS1 both ended unceremoniously as rumors surfaced about his temper and demands. Specifically, CBS put Sharpe on leave after a woman accused him of forcing her to have sex with him.
In 2023, security had to separate Sharpe from Memphis Grizzlies players Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant during a verbal exchange courtside at a Lakers game, for which Sharpe was responsible for starting.
Last year, Sharpe claimed that he accidentally streamed an Instagram Live video in which his followers could hear a woman having sex with him.
Social media users have speculated — who knows if it’s true? — that Sharpe uploaded the video intentionally in response to Antonio Brown and others accusing him of being gay.
Either way, it’s always something.
While ESPN values Sharpe — hence his $6.5 million annual salary — there is a line, especially at Disney. Every few months, Sharpe seems to cross that line.
Now, he faces a lawsuit where he is accused of raping and threatening to kill a woman some 35 years his junior.
“I look forward to presenting the evidence in this case through the judicial process, where the truth matters more than a sports icon’s desperate public spin,” the accuser’s lawyer said in a statement to The New York Times.
In the absolute best-case scenario for Sharpe, ESPN will have to answer for a nearly 60-year-old employee threatening to choke out a 19-year-old woman for calling him a “manipulative” as a lover.
ESPN did not respond to OutKick’s inquiry about Sharpe’s future at the network.
