Shannon Sharpe is taking a step back from his role on ESPN’s popular sports talk television program First Take, where he delivers commentary alongside Stephen A. Smith and host Molly Querim. In a statement released to his social media, he announced that he was “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.”
In case you missed it, the “false and disruptive allegations” he mentions are claims from a woman he was involved with who says he sexually assaulted her at different times, including at the end of 2024 and in January of this year. Since the lawsuit was made public recently, the woman was revealed to be white, in her early 20s, and worked on OnlyFans, and she alleged to have met him in 2023 when she was 19. Sharpe is 56, soon to be 57 in June.
Leaked text messages have also been shared with her asking him to impregnate her with a big Black baby (seriously, though), while leaked audio recordings found him claiming, more than once, that he might choke her, including in public. While Sharpe’s reps maintain that these types of conversations were common considering they were involved in an intense sexual relationship involving dominance and submission, it has set off a domino effect. On Thursday, an old situation at Fox Sports was brought to light, claims published that Sharpe had an incident with colleagues at FS1 that was physical. His rep maintained it was “playful” and that his former employers “handled the matter privately.” Specifically, FrontOfficeSports.com alleged that an impacted colleague was a female production assistant who accused Sharpe of choking her, and the matter was settled “for several hundred thousand dollars.”
Despite him saying this situation is a “shakedown,” the effects are beginning to show themselves. According to a statement ESPN shared with TMZ Sports, his decision to step away from First Take was one they supported: “This is a serious situation, and we agree with Shannon’s decision to step away.” ESPN, which is majority owned by Disney, has never been one to play about how staff, including big stars, conduct themselves. Retired NBA star Paul Pierce was axed from ESPN in 2021 after he shared an Instagram Live where he was pictured on camera smoking and drinking with friends while surrounded by dancers. He later said he was fired for violating what ESPN said was a morals clause in his contract. So while they may be watching Sharpe’s lawsuit play out to figure out next steps, should evidence show that this relationship was indeed violent, I don’t see ESPN keeping him on board. Especially after his own accidental IG Live that caught him having sex with a woman went viral in 2024, and they forgave him.
A shakedown, he says. But Sharpe was warned on multiple occasions about spending his time solely with young women, including young white women. His peers pushed for him to be careful. Mo’Nique, whose old Club Shay Shay convo with Sharpe has recently been dug up, asked him to settle down with a good woman his age. He always laughed it off, and as he told podcast pal Ochocinco, “Date your age? I want to date my wage. As a matter of fact, I’m taking applicants, as we speak!”
In addition to that being an example of pride, it’s also an example of toxic masculinity at work. While people associate the concept with men who won’t show vulnerability so as not to look weak, a form of TM is also a need for dominance or to be seen as dominant, including in romantic relationships. And who better for a man to be able to dominate than a woman who is much younger? A woman who is nowhere near that man’s financial success, stature, or experience, sexually and romantically. That’s a must for a guy who looks at himself as the catch.
That said, not every man dating a much younger woman is looking for a power dynamic that allows him to be dominant. Nevertheless, there are examples of men saying they aren’t interested in dating women their age due to the possibility of clashing, an inability to allow a man to lead, and the pressure that can come to commit and settle down.
Also, for those who need an ego boost, another intersection regarding toxic masculinity is the idea that a younger woman, with her beauty and youthfulness, is the ultimate arm candy for a successful man. Some men have said they are fond of younger ladies because they have no baggage, they aren’t headstrong, and in some cases, they can be molded.
“I tried dating women my age… that’s the hardest sh-t in the world,” said rapper Trick Daddy in a recent interview with Baller Alert. He’s 51, soon to be 52 this fall. “They stuck in they fu–king ways and they wonder why they can’t keep a man…them old h–s need to lower they standards.”
Of course, he lauded women aged 22 to 35 instead. “I want a b—h I could raise…’cause you can’t re-raise nobody. Somebody that appreciate me. Somebody I can learn them something, show them how to work hard.”
Who in the world wants to raise an adult?! A man who wants to write the rules, that’s who.
Interestingly enough, in a conversation on former First Lady Michelle Obama’s podcast IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, actress Tracee Ellis Ross, who is 52 and will be 53 this fall, noted that she, too, dates younger. However, it’s because she’s found that men her age want a relationship that only looks one way — where they’re in control.
“I am a full, very whole person who knows myself, who is in charge of my life, and lives a very full, robust life. It’s not just age, it’s life experience and sort of a difference, but I had to ask myself the question. Why does this keep coming up? Other than [younger men] are hot and gorgeous…but a lot of men my age are steeped in a toxic masculinity and have been raised in a culture where there is a particular way a relationship looks,” she told the hosts. “Anything that starts to smell of that for me — I did enough of it where I was controlled and felt like I was a possession or whatever those things were, a prize, and I just have no interest in it, and I will not do it again.”
Men around Ross’s age, are guys like Trick Daddy and Shannon Sharpe. But they want someone with whom they can have a good time (in Trick’s case, and whom they can “raise”). According to those close to Sharpe, that kind of fun includes BDSM sex that he maintains is consensual, while his accuser claims his effort to have control in the bedroom led to him not using condoms and having sex with her in ways she protested against, but which he ignored. And per Sharpe, fun, or his “happiness,” is found in women no older than 35. (For the record, he said in 2024 the youngest woman he would date was 28, but the accuser is about 21 now…).
But as stated, not every relationship that has an age difference regarding an older man and a younger woman involves a dirty old fart looking to wrangle a naive young woman. And not every young woman is malleable for money. Some are much wiser than expected and looking to find someone with whom they can exchange valuable insights, which can lead to an attraction to older suitors. Overall, I think if two people are consenting and treating one another with respect, even if they like BDSM and have kinks, more power to them, despite their different ages. But it’s clear Sharpe was not looking for a healthy relationship that could benefit where he is in his life now. “I want to date my wage,” and saying “I want a college senior” certainly gives that impression.
Perhaps he was looking to use this young woman to get what he wanted: Uninhibited sex, the type that begins with cringey text exchanges and talk of dog collars and “baby gravy.” Perhaps he thought he could keep her hidden, ringing her up only for fun, ensuring she had what she needed financially, and control the situation. He’s the elder. He’s a big fish, a man of stature and a hot commodity. Why wouldn’t he be in control? But being older doesn’t make you wiser, because Sharpe was being used too, but in a much deeper way than he realized. Their conversations were being recorded, their text messages were being screenshot, so that she could expose him in the most damaging ways, leaving people to grapple with the claim that the former Super Bowl Champ and beloved Hall of Famer was a possibly abusive older man trying to have his way with a young OnlyFans model. He tried to be a player, but he was simultaneously being played, and it is now putting everything he’s worked for in jeopardy.
Sharpe is facing quite the uphill battle. He was reportedly on the cusp of a vast, lucrative deal for his podcasts worth over $100 million, but his accuser is after $50 million of it. He’s tried to remain firm and tell his side, but his confidence is appearing shaken. Still, it’s hard to rally for the man. As mentioned, he was warned. Those who knew him well (including a Black woman) implored him to find someone who could really appreciate him, and all he could talk about was the experiences he had dating women his age in college who disappointed him by listening to their girlfriends. As a reminder, the man is about to be 57…let it go.
He should have known that as a public figure making millions, for as strong as he portrays himself to be, he was always going to be vulnerable. But a desire to be the Stella in the How to Get One’s Groove Back story, not to find true companionship but rather, someone he could utilize for unrestrained sex, led him into the quicksand. Right now, it looks like Unc is going to have a hard time getting out.
