Former Baltimore Ravens teammates Shannon Sharpe and Ray Lewis are not in a great place at the moment.
The pair are both NFL Hall of Famers and won a Super Bowl together with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001. But comments from Lewis made on a since-deleted podcast where the former linebacker went in on Sharpe and his media persona.
“I’m shocked at his content… I kind of started to watch him, and then we kind of went our own separate ways, because I’m like, ‘You’re gonna take that route? I can’t go that route. Never can go that route,” Lewis said amongst some detailed critiques of Sharpe’s media career and podcast presence.
Of course, those comments come after Shannon Sharpe became embroiled in a sexual assault lawsuit. While the suit was settled, it eventually led to his ouster from ESPN and First Take. After becoming one of the biggest names in sports broadcasting and podcasting, the scandal has seen Sharpe’s national profile and influence take a massive hit.
On his Nightcap podcast with Chad Johnson, Sharpe chose to not engage Lewis in response. Instead, he promised to be the “bigger man” while referencing his recent troubles.
“I got nothing bad to say. Because a lot of things you tolerated. I’m going to go ahead and say my thing. Whatever transpired, I’ll bite my tongue. I’ll be the bigger person. I’ll walk away. Hey, you right. Because you know why Ocho? It’s low-hanging fruit,” Sharpe said.
“There are a lot of people taking their shot at your boy. You all can have it. You all got me,” Sharpe continued. “It’s alright. It’s ok, it’s ok. We’re going to be all right Ocho. We’re going to be alright. Everybody wants to pile on. Everybody wants to jump on now. ‘We got him down Ocho, we got him down, hey let me get my lick now.’ Everybody wants to get a lick now because when your boy was doing good a lot of people didn’t have a whole lot to say. Now everybody got something to say.”
Shannon Sharpe was equally as diplomatic when it came to addressing his exit from ESPN earlier this summer as he was to Ray Lewis, but you could tell in the clip that he was certainly holding back from unleashing something more. It will be interesting to see if anyone else from Sharpe’s past decides now is the time to extract their own pound of flesh after his fall this year.
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