Shannon Sharpe to step away from ESPN duties amid ongoing lawsuit
Editor's Note: This report contains graphic descriptions of sexual acts.
Shannon Sharpe has said he will temporarily take time away from his role on ESPN after being sued for assault, sexual assault, battery and sexual battery. He denies the allegations in the lawsuit filed Sunday by an anonymous woman and her attorneys.
Sharpe plays a prominent part on ESPN's morning sports debate show 'First Take.'
'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,' Sharpe said in a statement issued on Thursday.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer concluded by thanking his 'family, fans, friends and colleagues' for their support.
Following Sharpe's announcement, ESPN said in a statement, 'This is a serious situation, and we agree with Shannon's decision to step away.'
Sharpe's legal representatives previously told CNN the lawsuit was an attempt to 'shake down' the popular podcaster for millions of dollars and said he 'categorically denies all allegations of coercion or misconduct.'
In the suit filed in a Las Vegas district court, 'Jane Doe' accuses the popular host of the 'Club Shay Shay' podcast of 'manipulating and controlling' the plaintiff during a nearly two-year period that started in 2023 as a consensual relationship when the woman was 20 years old.
The civil complaint alleges Sharpe, 56, 'violently sexually assaulted and anally raped Plaintiff,' in October 2024 and again in January of this year in Las Vegas, Nevada, 'blatantly ignoring her requests for him to stop.'
The suit states: '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.''
When asked if Jane Doe had contacted police during or after the alleged assaults, the plaintiffs' attorney, Tony Buzbee, said he could not comment.
The attorney told CNN, 'It takes a great deal of courage to stand up against those with power, fame and money. I look forward to pressing this case in court.'
Sharpe's attorney, Lanny J. Davis, said the woman is attempting to blackmail his client and that the pair's relationship was consensual and 'sexual in nature — and, in many cases, initiated by her with specific and graphic requests.'
Davis said Sharpe 'looks forward to vindication through due process and a judgment based on the facts and the law.'
The complaint is seeking compensatory and punitive damages of more than $50 million.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer was inducted as part of the Class of 2011. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 1990 and retired following the 2003 season as the NFL's all-time leader in catches, yards and touchdowns by a tight end.
Sharpe won two Super Bowls with Denver and then another while a member of the Baltimore Ravens.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
36 minutes ago
- USA Today
Is ESPN's hypothetical Trey Hendrickson trade feasible for the Lions?
Is ESPN's hypothetical Trey Hendrickson trade feasible for the Lions? Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson continues to be in a contract dispute with the team. Until the issue is resolved, Hendrickson will continue to be the subject of trade speculation. With that speculation, and with the need for extra help on the edge, the Detroit Lions will be linked to any potential trade discussion for Hendrickson. But is a trade actually feasible for the team? Before getting into that, let's discuss the hypothetical trade idea for Hendrickson to the Lions that was proposed by ESPN's Ben Solak this week. Solak proposed Hendrickson and a 2026 fifth-round pick to the Lions for a 2026 second-round pick and a conditional 2027 fourth-round pick that can become a third. Solak wrote: "Lions general manager Brad Holmes has acknowledged the fan base wants a secondary edge rusher far more than he does, but I imagine a player of Hendrickson's caliber would change Holmes' calculus slightly. Hendrickson isn't the sort of run defender the Lions might prioritize, yet a pass-rush duo of Aidan Hutchinson and Hendrickson might be the scariest in the NFL. "The Lions are still legitimate Super Bowl contenders and should behave as such with aggressive veteran trades. They have plenty of cap space to extend Hendrickson, which he would demand of an acquiring team." The Lions currently have $40 million in salary cap space for 2025, but are currently projected to be about $14 million over the cap for 2026, according to Spotrac. That can easily be addressed by restructuring contracts, including that of quarterback Jared Goff, for example. Goff is currently scheduled to make $55 million in base salary. The Lions do have other players set for new contracts coming up and the money will start getting pretty high. Not the least of which is Detroit's leading edge-rusher Aidan Hutchinson. In addition, safety Brian Branch is also due for an extension after this season. Tight end Sam LaPorta will also be coming up. All three have two years left on their rookie contracts -- Hutchinson had his fifth-year option picked up, Branch and LaPorta were not eligible for fifth-year options.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
DAVID MARCUS: CNN's airing of ‘Good Night And Good Luck" proves it has learned nothing
It takes a lot for me to object to a television program that includes gratuitous smoking and jazz, but CNN found the exception Saturday night with its breathtakingly sanctimonious live telecast of Broadway's "Good Night and Good Luck." This was as shameless as it gets. Many are familiar with the 2005 hit movie that the play, starring George Clooney, is based on, in which brave 1950s CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow takes on the red scare baiting of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. CNN's message was clear, they are the heroic journalists and President Donald Trump is McCarthy. As if this metaphor wasn't already incessantly slamming us in the head like a giant inflatable hammer for two hours, CNN's resident media guru Brian Stelter wrote an entire column comparing McCarthyism to the current lawsuit against CBS News' "60 Minutes," whose extremely friendly (read: dishonest) edit of an interview with Kamala Harris could have tilted the 2024 election, according to Trump. "The real-life drama recounted in the play took place at CBS, the same network that is currently being targeted by President Donald Trump," wrote Stelter. "That's one of the reasons why the play's dialogue feels ripped from recent headlines." CNN's media expert basically left out the whole part about "60 Minutes" editing a Kamala Harris interview to make her incoherent answers seem somewhat sensical, because for Stalter and CNN fighting against Trump is more important than journalistic integrity every day of the week. Even if Stelter, who once championed the absurd Biden White House lie that videos of decrepit Joe Biden were "cheap-fakes," won't say it, "60 Minutes" disgraced itself and lied to the American people. But there was Scott Pelley, the "60 Minutes" anchor on CNN, after the show, with an air of gravity and profound conceit, insisting that, "if you have the courage to speak, we are saved. If you fall silent, the country is doomed." Do these people listen to themselves? Do they own any mirrors? CNN and most of the liberal legacy media spent the entirety of the first Trump presidential term fostering a fake Russian collusion story. They then spent the four years under Biden ignoring the fact that he was demonstrably unfit. Where on earth do these people get off lecturing us about journalism? Then, of course, there is the star of the show, George Clooney himself. This is the same George Clooney who lied about the president of the United States being a zombie until it became politically expedient to be honest. Just like CNN lied about Russiagate, just like "60 Minutes" lied about editing Harris, Clooney lied about Biden's fitness. Because to these people, any lie is justifiable as long as it hurts Donald Trump. I really wish that was hyperbole, but it's not. Clooney has no contrition over his lies, and neither does CNN, Jake Tapper, Brian Stelter, or Scott Pelley. They don't think they did anything wrong. If they did, they wouldn't be dressing themselves up as heirs to the courageous journalism of Murrow. After the play, there was an assemblage of journalists, speaking before journalism students about the importance of what they had just witnessed. Of course, the closest thing CNN had to a conservative was Brett Stephens, a nice guy, but widely acknowledged as the Washington Generals of conservative political punditry. Needless to say, they congratulated themselves on being so enlightened and brave and speaking truth to power, while the handful of people watching threw up a little in their own mouths. You almost have to admire the audacity of CNN. Just weeks after bombshell books and reporting finally confirmed the obvious about Biden's incapacity and the liberal media's lies, the network aired a play in which it dressed itself up as brave heroes of the newsroom. It's amazing. It's also informative. This bizarre effort by CNN to paint itself in historical glory is proof positive that the network has learned nothing from its lies over the past eight years, and there is no reason to believe it will start being honest anytime soon. This reckoning by the liberal press regarding their failure to tell the truth about Biden is over. In fact, it never really began, and if they had somehow dragged bag-a-bones Joe over the finish line and gotten him elected, we'd have likely never known a thing about it. There's an old saying, when people tell you who they are, believe them. On Saturday night, CNN showed America exactly what they are: a shameless, unrepentant, and unreliable source for news. And that's the way it is.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
College baseball scores: Schedule, times, TV channels for Sunday super regional games
College baseball scores: Schedule, times, TV channels for Sunday super regional games Show Caption Hide Caption 5 men's NCAA baseball tournament players to watch The Mongomery Advertiser's Adam Cole and The Tennesseean's Aria Gerson break down the top players to watch in the men's NCAA baseball tournament. Coastal Carolina has clinched its way to the College World Series. Sunday's action will determine at least three of the teams that will join the Chanticleers in Omaha, Nebraska, for the CWS, which kicks off on June 13. Coastal Carolina finished off Auburn with a 4-1 win to sweep the Auburn Super Regional. Stream the NCAA baseball tournament with ESPN+ The action on June 8 will feature three Game 3s, with No. 5 North Carolina taking on Arizona, Louisville playing Miami and No. 8 Oregon State playing No. 9 Florida State in the Chapel Hill, Louisville and Corvallis super regionals, respectively. No. 3 Arkansas, No. 6 LSU, No. 15 UCLA and Duke all won their respective Game 1s and have a chance to sweep, as well. Here's a look at the super regional scores and schedule for June 8, along with how to watch each game: College baseball super regional schedule today Here's a full look at the super regional schedule for June 7 in the NCAA baseball tournament: All times Eastern Arizona at (5) North Carolina | Noon | ESPN+ Murray State at Duke | Noon | ESPN+ Miami vs. Louisville | Noon | ESPN+ (14) Tennessee at (3) Arkansas | 3 p.m. | ESPN (ESPN+) UTSA at (15) UCLA | 3 p.m. | ESPN2 (ESPN+) West Virginia at (6) LSU | 6 p.m. | ESPN2 (ESPN+) (9) Florida State at (8) Oregon State | 9 p.m. | (ESPN+) College baseball scores today This section will be updated as games become finalized Arizona vs. No. 5 North Carolina (Series tied 1-1) Duke vs. Murray State (Duke leads 1-0) Miami vs. Louisville (Series tied 1-1) No. 3 Arkansas vs No. 14 Tenneessee (Arkansas leads 1-0) No. 15 UCLA vs. UTSA (UCLA leads 1-0) No. 6 LSU vs. West Virginia (LSU leads 1-0) No. 8 Florida State vs. No. 9 Oregon State (Series tied 1-1) NCAA baseball tournament bracket The full bracket for the 2025 NCAA baseball tournament can be found here. Click here to view the full super regional schedule of the NCAA baseball tournament. When is the College World Series? The College World Series gets underway at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 13 with the first day of bracket pool play. The CWS finals start on June 21 and will last until either June 22 or June 23, depending on whether the "if necessary" Game 3 of the best-of-three series is needed. NCAA baseball tournament schedule Here's the full 2025 NCAA baseball tournament schedule: Regionals: May 30-June 2 May 30-June 2 Super regionals: June 6-9 June 6-9 College World Series: June 13-22/23 June 13-22/23 CWS finals: June 21-22/23 What channels are the NCAA baseball tournament super regionals on? TV channels: ESPN | ESPN2 | ESPNU ESPN | ESPN2 | ESPNU Streaming options: ESPN app | ESPN+ The June 8 slate of super regional round games of the NCAA baseball tournament will air across several channels: ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. Streaming options include the ESPN app (with a TV login) and ESPN+, ESPN's subscription streaming service.
