I thought I covered the Shannon Sharpe situation as it was happening in April, but I guess I skipped it because the story seemed so sensitive. In April, a woman (Jane Doe in the lawsuit) sued Sharpe for emotional and physical abuse. Sharpe, a longtime ESPN commentator and sports personality, tried to fight back and say that Doe is a jilted ex and he never did anything to her. ESPN suspended Sharpe back in April, and there was a feeling that they were doing their own in-house investigation and/or they hoped that Sharpe would simply settle with his ex quietly and make it all go away. Well, apparently Sharpe did settle with Doe and she withdrew the lawsuit… but ESPN is still firing him.

ESPN has cut ties with NFL Hall of Famer and media analyst Shannon Sharpe less than two weeks after he settled a lawsuit in which his ex-girlfriend accused him of rape, sources briefed on the decision told The Athletic on Wednesday.

Sharpe has not been on ESPN since late April, when the suit was first filed. He said at the time that he would return to ESPN at the beginning of NFL training camp. ESPN declined to comment.

The woman, known as “Jane Doe” in the suit, was seeking $50 million for “pain and suffering, psychological and emotional distress, mental anguish, embarrassment and humiliation.” Sharpe publicly denied the allegations immediately after his accuser filed the suit in April, calling the case a “shakedown” attempt. He has maintained that he and the Nevada woman were in a consensual sexual relationship.

Since retiring from the NFL, Sharpe, 57, has had a long media career, first as an NFL studio analyst and then as a sports talk host at FS1, where he rose to greater prominence debating Skip Bayless on “Undisputed.” After that run ended in 2023, Sharpe joined “First Take” as a twice-weekly foil for Stephen A. Smith.

Sharpe continues to have his podcasts “Club Shay Shay” and “Nightcap,” where he teams up with former wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, both of which are currently distributed by The Volume in an agreement that concludes at the end of August, according to sources briefed on the deal. Before the suit became public in April, Sharpe was closing in on a major podcast deal that may have been worth as much as $100 million, as Front Office Sports reported at the time and sources briefed on the situation confirmed to The Athletic.

[From The NY Times]

Club Shay Shay gave Sharpe’s career a huge boost, especially with the younger demographic. Clips from Club Shay Shay regularly go viral. It sounds like those shows/podcasts are in flux though, and I wonder if they’ll continue. It definitely doesn’t sound like Sharpe is still in talks for a $100 million podcast deal. As for the rest of it… I’m not surprised that he quietly settled with Doe, but I am surprised that ESPN still fired him. I wonder what the in-house investigation found?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.