Shannon Sharpe announced Thursday he will step away from ESPN as he faces a sexual assault lawsuit, while a report by Front Office Sports uncovered an additional incident in which Sharpe was accused of choking a female colleague at Fox.
Sharpe was the subject of a $50 million lawsuit in Nevada earlier this week, with a woman accusing him of sexually assaulting her, battering her and using his fame to control and subjugate her while they were in a relationship.
“My statement is found here and this is the truth,” Sharpe said Thursday in what appeared to be a screenshot of a text message posted to social media. “The relationship in question was 100% consensual.
“At this juncture I am electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties.
“I will be devoting this 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, fans, friends and colleagues.”
The Pro Football Hall of Famer began appearing on ESPN’s “First Take” in September 2023. He signed a multi-year contract extension with the company last summer.
Buzbee and his client shared an audio call that is alleged to feature Sharpe threatening to “choke the (expletive) out of” her. The female voice in the call replied, “I don’t wanna be choked,” and the voice purported to be Sharpe said, “Yes, you do. I don’t think you have a choice in the matter.”
Sharpe’s attorney Lanny Davis said his client and the plaintiff were engaged in “a consensual, adult relationship that included role-playing, sexual language and fantasy scenarios.” He also said that Sharpe didn’t mean the words literally.
In a previous statement, Sharpe claimed the lawsuit is filled with “lies, distortions and misrepresentations.” He also took aim at attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents the plaintiff, saying Buzbee “targets” Black men.
Also on Thursday, Front Office Sports reported that when Sharpe worked for Fox as the co-host of FS1’s “Undisputed,” he was accused of choking a female production assistant in the workplace.
Per the report, Sharpe was not sued in the case, and he and Fox settled with the woman for several hundred thousand dollars.
“There was no incident of choking involving Shannon on the FS1 set,” a representative of Sharpe’s said in a statement to Front Office Sports. “On one occasion, he and a few colleagues were involved in some light physical interaction in a playful context. Fox Sports later chose to resolve the matter privately.”
