Shannon Sharpe Stepping Away From ESPN Following Rape Lawsuit

Shannon Sharpe is temporarily stepping away from his role on ESPN and "First Take" following a civil lawsuit alleging he raped an ex-girlfriend.

On Thursday, Sharpe uploaded a statement to social media, maintaining his innocence and vowing to return to ESPN by the start of the NFL preseason. 

"My statement is found here and this is the truth. The relationship in question was 100% consensual," Sharpe wrote on X. "At this juncture I am electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties.

"I will be devoting this time to my family, and responding and dealing with these false and disruptive allegations set against me. I plan to return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason. I sincerely appreciate the overwhelming and ongoing support I have received from my family, fans, friends and colleagues."

Of course, ESPN will ultimately decide if Sharpe returns for the football season or at all.

Even if Sharpe settles and no charges are brought, TMZ released an audio clip of Sharpe threatening to choke his accuser out during an argument. Further, Sharpe has become a perpetual distraction for Disney-owned ESPN, such as streaming a sex tape last fall and openly discussing sex on his podcast.

There's also the question of whether ESPN wants to continue doing business with a nearly 60-year-old man involved in a toxic relationship with a 19-year-old OnlyFans model. 

At the very least, Sharpe is a headache to employ. He was a headache at CBS, FS1, and now ESPN. Specifically, CBS put Sharpe on leave after a separate woman accused him of forcing her to have sex with him.

Stephen A. Smith, who is also the executive producer of "First Take," said on his podcast this week that he had already spoken to ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro about Sharpe's standing with the company following the lawsuit.

"[Pitaro] made it very, very clear we are taking this matter very seriously, and we are looking into this very, very closely. And once we gather as many facts as we possibly can, we will go from there," Smith said on his podcast.

This is an ongoing story we will continue to update.