After a week of finger pointing and shocking sexual abuse accusations, First Take co-host Shannon Sharpe has announced that he is stepping away from ESPN amid a lawsuit alleging that he raped a woman.
Sharpe, 56, says he needs time away from the cable sports show to focus on fighting the accusations of rape that he fully denies.
“At this juncture, I am electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties,” he said in a statement posted to X on Thursday.
“I will be devoting this time to my family, and responding and dealing with these false and disruptive allegations set against me,” he added. “I plan to return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason.”
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) April 24, 2025
A spokesman for ESPN said the network agrees with Sharpe’s decision, NBC News reported.
“This is a serious situation, and we agree with Shannon’s decision to step away,” the ESPN spokesperson told the network.
Sharpe and his legal team fought the allegations of rape all week in the court of public opinion after a woman filed a lawsuit on Sunday against him alleging that he raped her at least twice.
The woman’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, then released two audio recordings that allegedly depict Sharpe telling the woman that he would “choke” her. Sharpe says that the audio clips are “heavily edited” and taken out of context.
Sharpe has denied all accusations and has insisted that the lawsuit is just a “shakedown” attempt.
He also accused the woman’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, of “targeting black men” and has threatened to sue Buzbee for defamation.
Buzbee is also heavily involved in lawsuits against rapper Jay-Z and NFL star Deshaun Watson, among others.
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