Former NFL star and current sports host Shannon Sharpe announced he will take a temporary leave from his role at ESPN amid a lawsuit that alleges sexual assault and sexual battery.
“My statement is found here and this is the truth. The relationship in question was 100% consensual,” Sharpe wrote on social media.
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) April 24, 2025
“At this junction I am eliciting to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties. I will be devoting my time to my family, and responding and dealing with these false and disruptive allegations set against me. I plan to return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason. I sincerely appreciate the overwhelming and ongoing support I have received from my family, friends and colleagues.”
ESPN added in a statement, “This is a serious situation, and we agree with Shannon’s decision to step away.” Sharpe had regularly appeared on ESPN’s morning show First Take since joining the network in August 2023, and was reportedly on the verge of a larger role at the network following a contract extension last year.
The civil complaint filed in Nevada earlier this week by a Jane Doe plaintiff claims that Sharpe, 56, allegedly assaulted her during a “rocky consensual relationship that lasted nearly two years” that began in 2023 when she was 19 years old. The $50 million lawsuit claims that Sharpe “violently sexually assaulted and anally raped Plaintiff two different times in Las Vegas, Nev., blatantly ignoring her requests for him to stop” in October 2024..
The complaint also alleges that Sharpe would record and share videos of his sexual encounters with Doe without her consent or knowledge. A September 2024 incident in which Sharpe launched an Instagram Live broadcast while engaging in sexual activity with an unknown person is also mentioned in the suit, though it is clarified that the woman heard on the broadcast is not the woman behind the lawsuit.
The lawsuit details a January 2025 incident where Sharpe allegedly dismissed requests from Doe to wear a condom or stop having sex with her entirely. “After many months of manipulating and controlling Plaintiff — a woman more than thirty years younger than he — and repeatedly threatening to brutally choke and violently slap her, Sharpe refused to accept the answer no and raped Plaintiff, despite her sobbing and repeated screams of ‘no,’” the complaint states.
In a statement, Sharpe’s legal representative Lanny J. Davis wrote, “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. It is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations — and it will not succeed. Mr. Sharpe categorically denies all allegations of coercion or misconduct – especially the gross lie of “rape” — and will not submit to what he sees as an egregious attempt at blackmail. He stands firmly by the truth and is prepared to fight these false claims vigorously in court. He looks forward to vindication through due process and a judgment based on the facts and the law.”
In the days since the lawsuit was filed, lawyers for both sides have leaked text messages and audio recordings between Sharpe and Doe via outlets like TMZ.
Last week, just days before the lawsuit was filed, Front Office Sports reported that Sharpe was on the cusp of inking a massive $100 million podcast deal; however, it’s unclear the status of those negotiations in the aftermath of the sexual assault lawsuit.
