There are growing doubts that Shannon Sharpe will return to ESPN as his career threatens to hit the rocks over the $50m rape lawsuit that he is facing.
The 56-year-old Sharpe has been accused of rape by an ex-girlfriend who, according to the lawsuit, was 19 when she first met the analyst and three-time Super Bowl winner.
Sharpe denies the allegations and earlier this week, his lawyer said he tried to settle with the woman for around $10m.
Clips have since been released of Sharpe threatening to ‘choke the s***’ out of the woman, while Sharpe’s lawyer released a trove of texts between the two with one showing that she told him ‘no means no’.
Now, according to a report in OutKick, there is question at ESPN over whether Sharpe will be back next week on First Take, the show he appears on alongside Stephen A. Smith.
The report says a source at ESPN has drawn paralells with Sharpe to Michael Irvin. Irvin has not been on ESPN since he was accused of sexual misconduct in 2023.
There are reportedly doubts over Shannon Sharpe’s ESPN future amid the $50m rape lawsuit
It was business as usual for Sharpe this week on the show – he didn’t speak about his lawsuit, nor did he appear on Wednesday’s edition which the network said was a planned day off.
Remarkably, Smith appeared to subtly distance himself from Sharpe when discussing the situation on his own YouTube channel earlier this week.
‘On one hand, going on the offensive to defend himself, I completely understand where Shannon Sharpe is coming from,’ Smith said.
‘On the other hand, when his legal team issued out the press release on X, they mentioned her name and revealed some of those explicit text messages, that was uncomfortable, and I don’t know if that’s a strategy that would work.
‘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.’
Sharpe is set to be in Green Bay on Thursday for the NFL Draft.
On Wednesday night, he said on Instagram that he will be interviewing NFL legends and picks from the first round.
MORE TO FOLLOW
