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On Sunday, a woman filed a lawsuit against ESPN host Shannon Sharpe, accusing him of s*xual assault and battery. According to the suit, the woman and Shannon were in a consensual relationship, which later turned "controlling" as well as "abusive."
The complainant claimed she had last met Shannon on January 2, 2025. Meanwhile, American columnist Jason Whitlock shared his take on this latest suit through a tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter. In the tweet posted on April 22, Jason suggested that Shannon would be unlikely to return to ESPN after these allegations. The tweet further read:
"Tomorrow's episode of Fearless will be amazing. I don't think we'll see Shannon Sharpe back at ESPN. Stephen A distanced himself from Shannon. The HR problems that Shannon had at other jobs will likely surface. The allegations in the lawsuit are not unfamiliar to people at Freak Sports 1."
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As seen above, the tweet also claimed that Shannon had problems in HR in his previous workplaces.
For the lawsuit, Shannon's attorney, Lanny J. Davis, released a series of messages allegedly sent by the woman to Shannon. According to ESPN, Davis called the suit a "blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars."
"We've grown close as friends. I certainly root for him,"- said Stephen A. Smith about Shannon Sharpe
While Jason Whitlock claimed that Stephen A. Smith had "distanced" himself from Shannon Sharpe after the lawsuit, the situation seemed different. In the latest episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith expressed his take on the situation for the first time. Smith first said:
"We've grown close as friends. I certainly root for him. I know he's been through a lot in life, he's overcome a lot of things, and when he departed from FOX, I was more than happy to bring him on board here."
Whitlock revealed that he had spoken to Shannon Sharpe after the lawsuit was filed. According to him, Sharpe "emphatically proclaims his innocence." Smith claimed that while he hoped that Sharpe was innocent and the allegations were untrue, he was also not fond of Sharpe's team's response.
The explicit text messages allegedly between Shannon and the complainant were posted online, and they made Smith "uncomfortable." During the same episode, Smith also wondered if leaking the tests would help the case.
On April 22, Shannon posted a video on social media of himself discussing the allegations. He directly criticized Tony Buzbee, who is reported to represent the complainant.
According to Shannon Sharpe, Buzbee would only target black men. In the video, Sharpe added:
"The encounter in question took place during the day at her invitation, and now that appears to be a deliberate setup coordinated by Gabby, also known as Carly on OnlyFans."
As for the civil lawsuit, the complainant has sought $50 million from Shannon Sharpe. He has been accused of charges like committing assault, s*xual assault, battery, and s*xual battery, and engaged in the intentional infliction of emotional distress.
