When Shannon Sharpe announced he would be taking a temporary leave from his duties with ESPN following a civil lawsuit filed by a woman who claims that the former NFL star sexually assaulted, harassed, and committed battery against her, it remained unclear what that meant for his Nightcap and Club Shay Shay podcasts. Sharpe has not appeared on ESPN since mid-April. However, he has continued to release podcast episodes with Nightcap co-host Chad Ochocinco.
Recently, the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver appeared as a guest on This Past Weekend with Theo Von and discussed the future of the podcast with Sharpe.
“Unc asked me to be a part of Nightcap, and I’m going to ride that wave because he asked me to come on,” said Ochocinco. “I’m not jumping ship because of his personal stuff. You handle whatever you need to handle, I’ll always be here. I’m going to be here. If the ship goes down, b***h I’m going down with it.”
The Nightcap podcast, which debuted in 2023 under Sharpe’s Shay Shay Media group, currently ranks in the top 30 of YouTube’s latest weekly top podcast rankings.
Moreover, Ochocinco remained steadfast in his loyalty to Sharpe. “When the ship was going good, I was right here,” he noted. “Just because it’s f***ing rocky. I ain’t going nowhere. I’m not going nowhere.”
Despite the controversy, Sharpe and Ochocinco have continued to deliver Nightcap content. For example, the duo appeared live in Green Bay, WI on the first night of the NFL Draft, hosting a live edition of the popular podcast the same evening as Sharpe’s public announcement.
So far, the former NFL tight end has not spoken out in detail about the allegations in the lawsuit. Instead, he announced a temporary leave from ESPN to devote more time to his family while addressing what he referred to as the “false and disruptive” accusations. Nevertheless, Ochocinco has been unwavering in his support.
“I’m going to let Unc do what he needs to do. We’re going to keep on filming. Going to keep on trucking. We’ll keep our head down,” Ochocinco says. “He knows what he needs to do on his end, and I’m going to make sure I take care of my end and do what I need to do and show up. That’s it.”
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