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Former NFL star tight end Shannon Sharpe made a decision on his near-term professional future amid allegations of sexual abuse. The three-time Super Bowl champion has been under the spotlight since a sexual assault lawsuit against him was filed on Sunday.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer reacted to the lawsuit by releasing a series of messages between himself and the plaintiff that caught a lot of attention from fans.
Shannon Sharpe took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday to announce his decision to temporarily leave ESPN, the network he joined last year after spending seven years alongside Skip Bayless on FOX Sports.
“My statement is found here and this is the truth,” Sharpe wrote. “The relationship in question was 100% consensual.
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“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.
“I sincerely appreciate the overwhelming and ongoing support I have received from my family, fans, friends and colleagues.”
Before the statement, a short audio of Shannon Sharpe telling the plaintiff he would shock her if she kept saying the former player "manipulated" her prompted the analyst to share a video defending himself and attacking Tony Buzbee for "targeting black men."
Stephen A. Smith talks Shannon Sharpe's future with ESPN amid serious allegations
Before Shannon Sharpe made this announcement, colleague and "First Take" co-host Stephen A. Smith shared his thoughts on the situation. While showing love to the retired tight end, Smith talked about Sharpe's future with the network.
"I have no idea what direction ESPN and Walt Disney will go in when it comes to this matter," Smith said (Timestamp: 19:42). "All I do know is, it won't be me making the decision. It'll be others upstairs. In the end, all of us have someone to answer to, no matter how maverick we try to be, and 'we own our own business' and 'we are sole proprietors.'
"There are advertisers, there are sponsors, there are people you do business with, there are partners and there are bosses. That's the situation, unfortunately, that Shannon Sharpe finds himself in at this particular moment of time."
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