Why and when did Shannon Sharpe leave Fox Sports? Exit explored as former NFL star accused of choking female PA in workplace

Shannon Sharpe is receiving criticism for allegedly getting violent with a female PA during his time as co-host on FS1’s Undisputed.

Sharpe is currently confronting a $50 million lawsuit brought forth by a former girlfriend in Nevada on Sunday, alleging he r*ped her. According to the New York Post, the allegations against the ESPN personality and former NFL star come on the heels of his announcement that he would be taking a temporary leave from the network.

Sharpe co-hosted Undisputed from 2016 to 2023, and reportedly, this decision stemmed from the escalating tensions between him and Skip Bayless, which reached a boiling point in January 2023. Shortly after, Sharpe reached a buyout agreement with Fox Sports, and on his final appearance on the show, scheduled for after the NBA Finals, he said, before bidding adieu:

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is officially my last day at work. After seven years, the train stops with Shannon Sharpe and ‘Undisputed’ right here.”

Everything we know about the lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe so far as ESPN says they support his decision to step away:

Prior to his stint at ESPN, he worked on Undisputed. He allegedly choked the woman in their workplace, sources close to the incident told Front Office Sports. However, at the time of writing, the date of the alleged incident remains unclear.

One source also told the outlet that Sharpe and Fox settled their case with Fox reportedly paying her several hundred thousand dollars, though no lawsuit had been filed against Sharpe at the time.

A rep for Shannon Sharpe told FOS,

“There was no incident of choking involving Shannon on the FS1 set. On one occasion, he and a few colleagues were involved in some light physical interaction in a playful context. Fox Sports later chose to resolve the matter privately. For further details, we recommend contacting Fox directly.”

As for the alleged victim, she filed her suit earlier this week, and is being represented by Tony Buzbee, the same lawyer who filed lawsuits against Deshaun Watson, Jay-Z, and Diddy. In her lawsuit, she claimed to have been 19 when she met Sharpe, 56, at a gym in Los Angeles in 2023.

The lawsuit alleges that they shared a consensual relationship that became strained when Shannon Sharpe accidentally went live on Instagram last October, seemingly getting intimate with another woman.

Buzbee also released the audio clip of Sharpe threatening to choke the alleged victim, though the latter's attorney, Lanny Davis, is contending that the pair were engaging in role-playing. He conceded that the audio was real, but claimed it was done in the “heat of the moment,” and was not to be taken literally.

“It is our opinion, this is a classic case of blackmail. The plaintiff demanded tens of millions of dollars in a proceeding that’s called mediation. In return for her not publishing this tape, which she showed the lawyers for Mr. Sharpe,” said Davis.

Davis also claimed that Shannon Sharpe had offered the victim at least $10 million to settle the suit before it was filed, adding that they were shocked to learn that the news had broken out in the media.

“The relationship in question was 100% consensual,” Sharpe penned on X in response to the lawsuit.“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.”

ESPN said in a statement,

“This is a serious situation, and we agree with Shannon’s decision to step away.”

Shannon Sharpe had to deal with similar allegations back in 2010, when he took a break from his role on CBS’s NFL Today studio show. At the time, he was accused of s*xual assault, though he later returned to work after the restraining order against him was dismissed.

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