Pro Football Hall of Famer and media superstar Shannon Sharpe announced his decision to "step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties" amid allegations of assault, sexual assault, battery and sexual battery, as well as engaging in the intentional infliction of emotional distress made by a woman he had previously dated.
Sharpe, who initially responded to the allegations by sharing alleged text messages sent by the woman, maintained his innocence in his statement shared on Thursday (April 24).
"My statement is found here and this is the truth," Sharpe said. "The relationship in question was 100% consensual.
"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."
Sharpe shared alleged text messages sent by the plaintiff hours after the allegations were made. The plaintiff's attorney later shared alleged voice messages in which Sharpe threatened to "f**king choke the s**t out" of her "in public."
The plaintiff, who was identified in the lawsuit by the "Jane Doe" pseudonym, claims she and Sharpe were in a "rocky consensual relationship" for nearly two years, which allegedly included Sharpe recording their sexual activities without her knowledge and sharing the footage without her permission or knowledge. The lawsuit specifies that an incident in which Sharpe "accidentally" livestreamed a sexual encounter on Instagram last year was with another woman, not the plaintiff.
The plaintiff does, however, claim that when the incident took place she "began to pull away from Sharpe," who she said then relentlessly pursued her after she cut off all communication with him. The complaint claimed that Sharpe confronted her in October 2024, at which point she had already ceased all communication, during an encounter that she alleged culminated in forcible sex against her consent.
A separate alleged incident was reported in January 2025, when she claims Sharpe engaged in unprotected sex with the plaintiff, despite her attempting to get him to either stop or wear a condom. The complaint, who is more than 30 years younger than Sharpe, 56, is seeking a minimum of $50 million from Sharpe in the civil case.