Stephen A. Smith hopes Shannon Sharpe can solve his legal battles quickly enough to make his ESPN return for the NFL season.
Last week, Sharpe announced his departure from ESPN as the Pro Football Hall-of-Famer faces accusations of sexual assault and rape in a lawsuit. In the announcement, Sharpe said he was electing to step aside from his ESPN responsibilities “temporarily,” noting plans of returning for the NFL preseason. ESPN released a statement saying they “agree with Shannon’s decision to step away,” but made no mention of his plans to return in just four months.
Smith, however, recently echoed Sharpe’s optimistic comeback plans during an interview with radio host Big Boy.
“He is emphatic that he is innocent of those things,” Smith said of the lawsuit against Sharpe. “But the court of public opinion is what the Disneys of the world and others concern themselves with. That’s a more immediate issue.
“And unfortunately, that has worked against him at this particular moment in time. So I’m hopeful this will all go away. I’m hopeful that I’ll have my brother back on the airwaves talking football next season.”
The lawsuit accusing Sharpe of sexual assault and rape was filed Sunday, April 20 by a woman identified as “Jane Doe.” Sharpe has since named the woman in response to the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff is seeking $50 million in damages. Reports about the lawsuit began to circulate minutes before Sharpe was set to co-host First Take with Smith on ESPN Monday, April 21. Sharpe remained on the show April 21 and 22, before announcing his departure on April 24.
Smith stopped short of guaranteeing Sharpe’s return to ESPN and First Take, given the questions that surround the lawsuit. But being hopeful about Sharpe returning implies Smith doesn’t hold a grudge over not being briefed on the lawsuit before news broke.
While it will ultimately be Disney’s decision on whether Sharpe will ever be eligible to return, Smith was quick to take credit for bringing the former Fox Sports personality to ESPN nearly two years ago.
“He was pushed out at Fox. And I know there were folks there that wanted that to be the end of his career and I wasn’t going to let that happen, because I remember how folks tried to do it to me in 2009,” Smith explained. “For me, any time you mention him now, you’re thinking about me to some degree because I brought him on to ESPN and that just elevated his profile and assisted in Club Shay Shay and Nightcap being taken to another level.”
First Take was undoubtedly a great side gig for Sharpe, but those two days a week he spent on ESPN were not the reasons Shay Shay Media was reportedly on the verge of landing a $100 million deal before the lawsuit.
Yes, when news of the lawsuit broke, there were calls for Smith to weigh in amid immediate questions about Sharpe’s future with ESPN. And there will now be calls for Smith to weigh in again as the calendar gets closer to Sharpe’s hopeful return date of the NFL season. But Sharpe and Smith don’t go hand in hand. And considering the lawsuit, it’s probably to Smith’s benefit that we’re not thinking about him anytime the name “Shannon Sharpe” is mentioned.