Warning: Discussion of sexual misconduct.
NFL Hall of Famer and media personality Shannon Sharpe is not returning to his hosting duties at ESPN after he settled a civil lawsuit with his ex-girlfriend, who accused him of sexual assault and rape, according to multiple reports.
On July 30, two weeks after the settlement was reached with the woman known as “Jane Doe” in the suit, ESPN officially cut ties with Shannon, the Athletic reported.
Shannon hasn’t been on ESPN since late April, when the suit, seeking $50 million for “pain and suffering, psychological and emotional distress, mental anguish, embarrassment, and humiliation,” was first filed. In the lawsuit, Jane Doe accused Shannon of assaulting and raping her in late 2024 and early 2025 while they were in a relationship.
Shannon immediately denied the allegations and, in a video shared to his X account on April 22, claimed the accusations were a “shakedown.”
In a written statement on April 24, he 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.”
In the message, Shannon suggested he would return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason. In a statement from ESPN, the network agreed with Shannon’s decision. “This is a serious situation, and we agree with Shannon’s decision to step away,” they wrote.
Jane Doe’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, who represented the plaintiffs in several civil lawsuits against Sean “Diddy” Combs, announced the dismissal of the suit against Shannon on X. However, the actual terms of the settlement are not clear. In the post, he wrote, “After protracted and respectful negotiations, I’m pleased to announce that we have reached a mutually agreed upon resolution. All matters have now been addressed satisfactorily, and the matter is closed. The lawsuit will thus be dismissed with prejudice.”
Since his retirement as a tight end for the Denver Broncos, Shannon launched his career as a sports talk show host for Undisputed with Skip Bayless and First Take with Stephen A. Smith.
While his time with ESPN has ended, he continues to host the podcasts Nightcap and Club Shay Shay. You might be familiar with Club Shay Shay after several interviews have gone viral, like his conversations with comedians Katt Williams and Mo’Nique.
In response to his departure from the network, Shannon said on the Nightcap podcast that he understood ESPN’s decision but found the timing unfortunate. “The only thing that I really asked was, ‘Guys can we wait until Monday.’ My brother [Sterling] is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I really want it to be about him and I want it to be about my family.’ I said, ‘This coming out will overshadow everything that he’s worked his entire life for.’ And unfortunately, you know, it didn’t happen that way.”
We reached out to Shannon’s team for further comment. We’ll keep you updated if we hear back.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 (HOPE), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.
