As he faces a $50 million lawsuit for sexual assault, Shannon Sharpe is briefly stepping down from his publish at ESPN.
On Thursday, April 24, the 56-year-old former NFL participant introduced that he was “electing” to step apart from his duties amid allegations that he raped a girl in Nevada on two events.
“At this juncture, I’m electing to step apart briefly from my ESPN duties,” Sharpe mentioned in an announcement despatched to theGrio by his disaster administration group. “I will probably be devoting this time to my household, and responding and coping with these false and disruptive allegations set in opposition to me.”
The previous NFL tight-end, who performed for the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens, was often featured on ESPN’s morning sports activities debate present, “First Take.” The podcast host and soccer analyst mentioned he intends to return to the community in the beginning of the NFL season.
“I sincerely admire the overwhelming and ongoing help I’ve obtained from my household, followers, mates and colleagues,” he ended the assertion, which additionally included a hyperlink to a video he posted on Instagram denying the allegations.
On Sunday, April 20, a girl recognized as Jane Doe filed swimsuit in opposition to Sharpe in Nevada for sexual assault, harassment, battery, rape, and intentional infliction of emotional misery. She can also be alleging that whereas that they had a “rocky consensual relationship” for 2 years that started when she was 19, issues took a flip when she tried to finish issues. She is alleging that along with the harassment and Sharpe’s relentless pursuit of her as she she tried to distance herself from him, that he additionally raped her on two separate events.
In a response made by means of his legal professional on Monday, Sharpe vehemently denied the allegations, calling them an try at blackmail. The assertion additionally revealed specific textual content messages shared between the 2 to additional characterize the character of their relationship and recognized the plaintiff.
“This lawsuit, filed by [Jane Doe] and orchestrated by her legal professional Tony Buzbee, is a blatant and cynical try and shake down Mr. Sharpe for tens of millions of {dollars},” mentioned Sharpe’s legal professional Lanny J. Davis. “It’s full of lies, distortions, and misrepresentations — and it’ll not succeed.”
The assertion explains the connection between the 2, which concerned role-playing and fantasy situations, which the plaintiff “explicitly requested.” It additional alleges that the plaintiff selected the authorized route when makes an attempt to blackmail Sharpe had been unsuccessful.
Within the video Sharpe posted, he asserts that Buzbee—who has been behind high-profile lawsuits in opposition to different athletes and Jay-Z—“targets Black males.” He additionally explains that since his model is about honesty, he’s going to be “open and clear.” He claimed the accuser was an OnlyFans mannequin and recognized her once more. Sharpe additional demanded that Buzbee launch the total model of a video that the previous 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’ve been fervent on-line.
Since information of the lawsuit broke, discourse on-line has swelled. Many staunch supporters see this as an try and extort cash from the podcast host, or that he obtained “caught up” as he claims. In the meantime, others see his culpability given the age distinction and the seriousness of the allegations.
Among the many ongoing commentary on-line, a clip from when the comic Mo’Nique appeared on his podcast “Membership Shay Shay” has begun to recirculate. In it, strikingly, Mo’Nique is imploring Sharpe to this point ladies his age, a dialog on the coronary heart of a lot of the discourse on-line about Sharpe’s scenario..
“He didn’t hear,” commented a consumer on X.
