Stephen A. Smith has broken his silence over allegations of rape against ESPN colleague Shannon Sharpe.
In a self-titled podcast released Tuesday, Smith spent nearly 20 minutes discussing the topic, calling it a “sad situation.”
“Shannon Sharp is the guy I work with a few days a week. Shannon Sharp is the guy I brought to ESPN… We’ve come close as friends… I’m certainly rooting him,” he said.
Sharp denied the charges on Monday through his lawyer, Lanny J. Davis, and doubled his denial in a video posted on Instagram on Tuesday.
Uncertain Smith, who has been working with Sharp on “First Take” since September 2023, said “I can’t speak to his innocence or guilt from a place of knowledge.”
“I am truly proud of my hope and prayer that despite my love and respect for Shannon Sharp, I am completely innocent of the allegations imposed against him,” he added.
Smith admitted that he was “a bit torn apart” about Sharp’s reaction, and first gave Sharp’s claim that Tony Buzby, the accuser’s lawyer who represented the plaintiff in the case of Jay-Z, Shawn “Diddy” and Desshaun Watson, “targeted black men.”
However, he later questioned how Sharp handled the situation since news broke the lawsuit Monday morning.
“On the other hand, I continue to attack to protect myself and fully understand where Shannon Sharp came from,” Smith said. “On the other hand, when his legal team issued a press release yesterday on X and they talked about (her) they mentioned her name and revealed some of those explicit text messages. It was offensive. And I don’t know if that will work or not.”
In multiple press releases, Davis has named the accuser and released a series of explicit texts allegedly sent by the Sharp accuser. Davis shows a consensus relationship that includes “roleplay” and “fantasy.”
Davis said his client was willing to pay the plaintiff “at least $10 million” in the settlement for her silence, as both sides were in the middle of mediation before the lawsuit.
Smith added that he has been talking to Sharp since the allegations appeared, and that he “emphasized” denied the allegations.
“In my perfect world, [Sharpe] Smith said. Smith said. “But it doesn’t seem like what things are about to turn out. I don’t know where this is going to go. I can’t say anything else.”
Sharp appeared on “First Take” on Tuesday, but Smith confirmed that world leaders still have the decision to make on the issue.
ESPN told the post that it had “no comments” about the situation on Monday.
“I don’t know what happened. I know I got love for my brother,” Smith said. “I know he is innocent and that all this will go away and that he will continue to thrive with me on ESPN and that he will continue to thrive for many years.
“I don’t know what direction ESPN will take on this issue,” Smith said. “What I know is that it’s not something I make decisions. It’s going to be the other person upstairs. Ultimately, there’s someone we can all answer.
