Stephen A. Smith reveals talk with ESPN boss on…
Stephen A. Smith mentioned he acquired permission to ship a message from ESPN and Disney in regards to the $50 million civil lawsuit accusing Shannon Sharpe of rape that was filed by a lady below the pseudonym “Jane Doe” on Sunday.
During Tuesday’s installment of his self-titled YouTube show, Smith defined that he spoke with co-chairman Jimmy Pitaro, who made it clear that the company is within the course of of gathering details and taking the matter very significantly.
“I recruited Shannon… but I’m not the boss,” Smith mentioned, referring to when Sharpe left Fox for ESPN in June 2023. “Those are people. There are layers to this and there are specific layers that even I’m not on. I can let you know I additionally spoke to co-chairman of Disney, the boss, Jimmy Pitaro, who made it very, very clear that [ESPN is] taking this matter very significantly and we’re trying into this very, very carefully and as soon as we collect as many details as we presumably can, we’ll go from there.
Stephen A. Smith spoke about Shannon Sharpe being accusing of rape on his YouTube show on April 22, 2025. YouTube/Stephen A. Smith Show
“And that is all he said. And I can mention his name because I received his permission to say that. I don’t know what that means.”
Smith emphasised that he wasn’t sure how the matter will transfer ahead at ESPN.
Shannon Sharpe speaks onstage during 2024 HOPE Global Forum on December 10, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Getty Images
“I have no idea what direction ESPN and Disney will go in when it comes to this matter,” Smith mentioned. “All I do know is I won’t be me making the decision. It will be others upstairs. In the end, all of us have someone to answer to. No matter how maverick we try to be and we own our own business… there are a bosses. That’s the situation that unfortunately that Shannon Sharpe finds himself in at this particular moment in time.”
Smith added that he spoke with Sharpe in regards to the matter.
“[Sharpe] was emphatic in stating his innocence that this is a shakedown,” Smith mentioned, referring to Sharpe’s feedback in regards to the matter in an Instagram video earlier Tuesday.
Sharpe, who denied the allegations via his lawyer in a assertion on Monday, doubled down on his denial and known as it a “shakedown” within the video.
“He was on national television with me Sunday night when the story came out,” Smith mentioned. ” I didn’t know something about it till we received off the air. But he was on the air.”
Smith mentioned he spoke on the subject as a result of he’s on national tv with Sharpe, who seems on “First Take” two time per week.
Smith mentioned ESPN was conscious that he was going to cowl the information about Sharpe on his YouTube show, which is solely owned and operated by him.
“In my perfect world, [Sharpe] moves on, and somehow, some way, we find this all to be false,” Smith mentioned. “But it doesn’t seem like that’s the way things are about to go down, considering who [the woman’s lawyer] Mr. [Tony] Buzbee is and how emphatic his client is proclaiming that she is right and she is telling the truth. I don’t know where this is going to go. I can’t speak to anything else.”
In her grievance, “Jane Doe” alleges Sharpe dedicated assault, sexual assault, battery, sexual battery and engaged within the intentional infliction of emotional misery during a “rocky consensual relationship” that lasted almost two years.
The plaintiff, who’s more than 30 years youthful than him, alleges Sharpe brutally sexually assaulted her a number of occasions on the finish of 2024 and the start of 2025.
Sharpe has appeared on ESPN commonly, in addition to his “Nightcap” podcast, for the reason that lawsuit was filed in Nevada on Sunday.
In a digital press convention on Tuesday, Sharpe’s counsel, Lanny J. Davis, mentioned his consumer was within the midst of a mediation with the lady who accused him of rape when she filed a civil lawsuit in opposition to him “without warning” demanding $50 million.
Davis mentioned Sharpe was keen to pay the plaintiff “at least $10 million” in a settlement, and that the plaintiff “took advantage” of the previous NFL star’s “very lucrative” contract for his “Club Shay Shay” podcast that was not too long ago reported.
Sharpe was sued a day earlier than Front Office Sports reported that he’s anticipated to signal a deal for his “Club Shay Shay” podcast that might exceed $100 million after his contract with Colin Cowherd’s The Volume podcast community expired not too long ago.
Davis mentioned his consumer will countersue the lady.
Buzbee confirmed that his consumer turned down a $10 million offer from Sharpe with the intention to proceed with litigation.
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