A civil lawsuit filed against former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe has reportedly been settled outside of court. According to a post on Attorney Tony Buzbee’s Instagram account, he says the civil lawsuit will be dismissed without prejudice following the two sides coming to an agreed resolution.
Buzbee, who represents the woman only known as ‘Jane Doe’ in the civil suit, filed the lawsuit in Clark County, NV, in April, claiming Sharpe sexually assaulted, harassed, and committed battery against ‘Jane Doe.’ Details in the lawsuit stated that ‘Doe’ was in a rocky relationship with Sharpe for nearly two years and was seeking $50 million in damages.
Furthermore, according to Buzbee’s post, after “protracted and respectful negotiations,” the two sides reached a “mutually agreed upon resolution,” with all matters addressed “satisfactorily,” and the matter is now closed.
As a result of the lawsuit, Sharpe decided to step down temporarily from his duties with ESPN. He denied the allegations at the time through his representation and several social media posts. Nevertheless, he decided to step away after making a statement on his social media accounts in April.
“My statement is found here and this is the truth. The relationship in question was 100% consensual,” Sharpe noted. “At this juncture, I am electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties.”
In response, ESPN released a statement following the post made by Sharpe.
“This is a serious situation, and we agree with Shannon’s decision to step away,” said ESPN via a statement.
Meanwhile, Sharpe has continued to produce episodes of his podcasts NightCap and Club Shay Shay throughout the ordeal. However, he has yet to address his potential return to ESPN since stepping away from the network.
There has been much speculation about whether ESPN will continue with Sharpe. For instance, First Take co-host and executive producer Stephen A. Smith told BigBoyTV that he knew the allegations against Sharpe would prevent him from being on ESPN airwaves when they surfaced.
“Although I was hopeful that it ultimately would not lead to him being off the air, I knew it wasn’t going to go down like that because I know Disney,” said Smith. “The court of public opinion is what the Disney’s of the world and others concerned themselves with. That’s a more immediate issue, and unfortunately, that has worked against him at this particular moment in time.”
Additionally, last month, Dan Le Batard of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz questioned if Sharpe would ever return to ESPN.
To date, ESPN, Sharpe’s attorneys, or Sharpe himself have not publicly made any statement following the revelation from Buzbee via Instagram.
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