ESPN personality Shannon Sharpe is embroiled in a civil lawsuit filed by a woman who claims that the former NFL tight end sexually assaulted, harassed, and committed battery against her. According to a lawsuit filed Sunday in Clark County, NV, the plaintiff, under the alias “Jane Doe,” said she was in a rocky relationship with Sharpe for nearly two years and is seeking $50 million dollars in damages. Sharpe is a weekly co-host on ESPN’s First Take with Stephen A. Smith, who is the executive producer of the program and helped the network land Sharpe following his leave from rival network FS1.
Yesterday, Stephen A. Smith took to his owned and operated YouTube podcast to discuss the allegations against Sharpe. Smith said that he spoke with ESPN management about the situation and passed along that he knows nothing more of the situation. Furthermore, he expressed hope that Sharpe is allowed to prove his innocence and wished for the best outcome for him.
Additionally, David Samson was a guest on The Dan Le Batard Show Wednesday to discuss the very measured comments from Stephen A. Smith regarding the lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe.
“He actually said, I don’t know anything. I brought Shannon to ESPN. I attempted he was, he’s my partner, he’s my friend, and I want to believe him, because I want it to not be true, but I just don’t know,” said Samson regarding Smith’s comments on his podcast. “By the way, he did a read for PrizePicks before the show. He then did an entire conversation about how he has ESPN bosses. How while it’s his own show, the podcast, he’s got other employers. So he was very measured, because you don’t want to be on the wrong side of this. No matter whether it’s your friend or not.”
Moreover, Samson, a former Major League Baseball executive, noted Smith’s recent headlines about a possible attempt to run for President of The United States. He stated that Smith was as measured as he could be because you don’t want this to backfire in case there is a run for the Oval Office.
“You have a better chance to become President than monetizing your podcast if you’re on the wrong side of an issue like this one,” Samson noted.
Meanwhile, Sharpe has denied the allegations through his lawyer and several posts on social media. According to the New York Post, Sharpe was in mediation with his accuser, with Sharpe’s lawyer Lanny J. Davis saying that his client was at least willing to settle for $10 million dollars. However, Sharpe and his attorney have revealed the name of “Jane Doe” in their responses to the civil suit filed earlier this week, which Samson noted typically is something that never happens.
“It’s common both criminally and civilly, in order to protect the name of the person involved,” said Samson. “What Shannon Sharpe did, you have every right to name a person. You have every right to defend yourself in any court of law, any legal action. That’s an interesting choice, though. Because more so than the 10 million settlement offer, I found the choice to name the name the more suspect choice. I don’t think it was necessary.”
At this time, ESPN has made no comment on the matter with Shannon Sharpe.
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