Shannon Sharpe takes temporary leave from ESPN amid rape lawsuit

NFL legend turned TV star Shannon Sharpe has removed himself from the screen after allegations he violently assaulted a woman.

Shannon Sharpe is taking a temporary leave from ESPN after he was accused of rape in a $50 million civil lawsuit on Sunday.

The 56-year-old, who appears on ESPN’s “First Take,” has repeatedly denied the allegations made by a Jane Doe that he sexually assaulted her in late 2024 and early 2025, the NY Post reports.

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“My statement is found here and this is the truth. The relationship in question was 100% consensual,” Sharpe wrote in a statement posted to social media.

“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.”

In a statement to The Post, ESPN said, “This is a serious situation, and we agree with Shannon’s decision to step away.”

FILE - Former NFL football player and sports analyst Shannon Sharpe poses at a special screening of the Netflix documentary film "The Redeem Team," Sept. 22, 2022, at Netflix Tudum Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

The accuser’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, released an audio recording this week in which Sharpe can be heard telling the woman, “I might choke you in public.”

In a previous recording released earlier in the week, Sharpe can be heard telling the accuser, “if you say that word one more time, I’m going to f***ing choke the s*** out of you when I see you.”

Sharpe’s lawyer, Lanny J. Davis, released a series of explicit text messages he says were sent from the accuser to Sharpe, which Davis says illustrates the two had a consensual relationship that involved “role-playing” and “fantasy.” He also said the accuser charges money for role-playing on OnlyFans.

One alleged text from the accuser, who is more than 30 years younger than Sharpe, in October 2023 says, “I want you to put a dog collar around my neck and choke me with it while you’re f***ing me.”

Sharpe has stepped away from ESPN. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for Netflix)

Davis also said this week Sharpe, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who played for the Broncos and Ravens, and the accuser were close to a settlement worth “at least $10 million” before she backed out. Sharpe claims the lawsuit is a “shakedown.”

Stephen A. Smith, the centerpiece of “First Take,” addressed the allegations on his eponymous podcast this week.

“I recruited Shannon … but I’m not the boss,” Smith said, referring to when Sharpe left Fox for ESPN in June 2023.

“Those are other folks. There are layers to this and there are certain layers that even I am not on. I can tell you I also spoke to co-chairman of Disney, the boss, Jimmy Pitaro, who made it very, very clear that (ESPN is) taking this matter very seriously and we are looking into this very, very closely and once we gather as many facts as we possibly can, we will go from there.

“And that is all he said. And I can mention his name because I received his permission to say that. I don’t know what that means.”

This article originally appeared on the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.