Shannon Sharpe took to social media on Thursday to announce he’s “electing” to temporarily step aside from ESPN’s First Take as he battles a $50 million civil sexual assault lawsuit that was filed against him by a woman he was previously involved in a “consensual relationship” with.
“My statement is found here and this is the truth. The relationship in question was 100% consensual,” Sharpe, 56, wrote on X on Thursday. “At this juncture I’m electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties.”
The former Denver Broncos star in his statement also said that he was going to be “devoting this time to my family, and responding and dealing with these false and disruptive allegations set against me.”
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“I plan to return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason,” he added. “I sincerely appreciate the overwhelming and ongoing support I have received from my family, fans, friends and colleagues.”
Per Variety, Sharpe stepping down from his role could possibly provide the time ESPN and its parent company need to decide if the 56-year-old should remain on their payroll. “This is a serious situation, and we agree with Shannon’s decision to step away,” ESPN said in a statement on Thursday.
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First Take is a sports debate show hosted by Stephen A. Smith, and Sharpe, who is a Pro Football Hall of Famer, usually joins the roundtable chat on Mondays and Tuesdays. Besides that, he is also the host of his Club Shay Shay podcast.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Sharpe initially attempted to prevent his rape case from escalating as the retired NFL star reportedly tabled a monetary offer to his accuser in an attempt to settle the issue before it made the news.
While addressing reporters on Tuesday, Sharpe’s attorney, Lanny J. Davis, stated that the 56-year-old offered “at least” $10 million to his rape accuser “within the last month or so,” TMZ reported.
Davis said that Sharpe’s accuser, identified as Jane Doe in the $50 million civil sexual assault lawsuit that was filed in Nevada on Sunday, was seemingly pondering on accepting the offer at a certain point. But she “suddenly without warning, walked away from our offer.”
Davis also said that it came as a “big surprise to us when suddenly this case was filed without any advanced warning.”
Doe in her lawsuit stated that she and Sharpe met at a Los Angeles gym in 2023. She said she was 20 years old at the time, and she and Sharpe established a consensual relationship. She, however, claimed that the relationship was abusive and controlling.
Doe in her lawsuit also accused Sharpe of raping her in 2024 after she attempted to end their relationship. She alleged Sharpe sexually assaulted her again in January 2025, per TMZ.
Sharpe has, however, denied the allegations.
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