Shannon Sharpe has found himself in a highly-publicized civil battle after he was accused of sexual assault this week.

The football Hall of Famer turned national television star was accused of assault, sexual assault, battery and sexual battery. He was also accused of engaging “in the intentional infliction of emotional distress,” with his accuser seeking $50 million in damages.

The situation has already gotten extremely ugly, with Sharpe calling the allegations a “shakedown” while he and his legal team released sexually explicit messages the woman had allegedly sent him over time. The woman is being represented by Tony Buzbee, who represented two dozen of the women who accused Deshaun Watson of sexual assault – all but one of those cases came to a settlement.

Buzbee also represented the woman who accused Jay-Z and Diddy of assault when she was just 13 – the charges were dropped, and Jay-Z is now suing the woman and Buzbee.

Sharpe is now a guest host on ESPN’s “First Take,” and the mainstay in Stephen A. Smith broke the silence about the “sad situation” his “friend” is now in.

“We’ve grown close as friends. I certainly root for him. I know he’s been through a lot in life, he’s overcome a lot of things, and when he departed from FOX, I was more than happy to bring him on board here. So all I can speak to about is what I know based on the reports, and I can speak about ESPN and Disney,” Smith said on his own podcast, adding that ESPN was “aware” he would speak about Sharpe.

Smith said he also spoke with Sharpe, who “emphatically proclaims his innocence.” Smith is “hopeful and prayerful that he’s completely innocent,” but stopped short of saying so himself, and also criticized Sharpe’s response to the allegations.

“On one hand, going on the offensive to defend himself, I completely understand where Shannon Sharpe is coming from. On the other hand, when his legal team issued out the press release on X yesterday, they mentioned her name and revealed some of those explicit text messages, that was uncomfortable, and I don’t know if that’s a strategy that would work,” Smith said. “One of the hardest things in the world for all of us to do is to just lay low and be quiet and let our legal team do it. And we don’t always know if that’s the right thing to do. 

Shannon Sharpe speaks onstage during the 2024 RenderATL Tech Conference at AmericasMart Atlanta on June 14, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

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“I know, and I can tell you all I spoke to Shannon, not in details, but I spoke to him, and he emphatically proclaims his innocence. According to Mr. Buzbee, his client emphatically proclaims his guilt. So where does that leave us? I’d love to tell you I know the answer to that question, but I don’t.

Smith added that he does not know what the end result will be in terms of Sharpe’s employment at ESPN or on “First Take,” but Smith said after speaking with ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, Pitaro “made it very very clear we are taking this matter very seriously, and we are looking into this very, very closely. And once we gather as many facts as we possibly can, we will go from there.”

“In my perfect world, this equates to Jay-Z where the case ultimately dropped, and Shannon is allowed to continue on “First Take” and thrive and shine and have an illustrious career in the podcast stratosphere… In my perfect world, he moves on. And somehow, someway, we find this all to be false. But it doesn’t seem like that’s the way things are about to go down considering who Mr. Buzbee is and how emphatic his client is proclaiming that she is right and she’s telling the truth. I don’t know where this is going to go. I can’t speak to anything else,” Smith continued.

“I hope all of this is a sad ordeal that goes away because there was no truth to it, but I don’t know. Neither do you or the rest of us. Only time will tell what the truth is.”

Sharpe’s attorney, Lanny J. Davis, said the releasing of the explicit messages between the plaintiff and Sharpe “clearly indicate the nature of their relationship was consensual and sexual in nature in many cases, initiated by her with specific and graphic requests.” 

The complaint accused Sharpe of “manipulating and controlling Plaintiff” and making threats of violence against her. 

Feb 7, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Former NFL player Shannon Sharpe attends the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena.   (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

“A woman can say ‘yes’ to consensual sexual relations with a man ninety-nine times, but when she says ‘no’ even once, that ‘no’ means no,” the complaint read, via ProFootballTalk’s reporting. “Defendant Shannon Sharpe, a man who is accustomed to getting what he wants, completely fails to understand this basic concept. After many months of manipulating and controlling Plaintiff—a woman more than thirty years younger than he—and repeatedly threatening to brutally choke and violently slap her, Sharpe refused to accept the answer no and raped Plaintiff, despite her sobbing and repeated screams of ‘no.’”

Sharpe said Buzbee, who “targets Black men,” is “also going to release a 30-second clip of a sex tape that tries to make me look guilty and play into every stereotype you could possibly imagine.” Buzbee confirmed that “an incredible damning video does indeed exist” that “speak[s] volumes about Mr. Sharpe and his behavior.”

Sharpe’s attorneys admitted that the former tight end previously offered the woman a settlement of around $10 million, but she declined.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.

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As they moved from station to station in the shadow of the Chargers’ practice facility, Tyler Conklin seemingly never strayed too far from Justin Herbert. No moment is too early for a new tight end to strike up a relationship with the star quarterback.

“He’s a really special guy,” Conklin said Tuesday as the Chargers began their offseason program. “He obviously has the arm, can make every throw on the field, which is crucial, but also just the athleticism he has to extend plays. I think he can do a lot of things that just elevates everybody around him and that’s really exciting to be around.”

With Herbert still at the center of the team’s plans, the Chargers spent the first phase of free agency hoping to surround the quarterback with steady playmakers. Conklin caught 51 passes for 449 yards receiving and a career-best four touchdowns for the New York Jets last season before signing with the Chargers on a one-year contract. Fellow free agents Mike Williams and Najee Harris were also seen on the field Tuesday on the first day of voluntary offseason workouts.

Offensive lineman Mekhi Becton, fresh off winning a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, thought his free agency would play out differently than it did. The 26-year-old was coming off what he felt was the best season of his career. It was surely the healthiest of his career as he was two years removed from a broken knee cap suffered during training camp in 2022.

“It wasn’t what I was expecting it to be,” Becton said of the free-agency process that ended with him signing a reported two-year, $20-million contract with the Chargers. “But I’m where I’m supposed to be.”

Becton noted how the Chargers embraced him with open arms. Coach Jim Harbaugh did so quite literally, greeting the 6-foot-7, 363-pound offensive lineman with a big hug at the Chargers’ practice facility late at night when he signed his contract in March.

Despite experience at both left and right tackle as well as right guard, Becton is expected to slot in at right guard for the Chargers, the same position he anchored during the Eagles’ Super Bowl run. His pairing with all-rookie right tackle Joe Alt (6-8, 322 pounds) gives the Chargers an imposing presence on the right side of the line in front of Herbert.

Alt has been on Becton’s radar for years. The veteran has admired the Notre Dame alumnus since he entered the league.

“He’s like a dancing bear,” Becton said. “He’s really light on his feet.”

Alt and left tackle Rashawn Slater were star bookends for an offensive line that set a strong foundation for the future under Harbaugh. The Chargers’ turnaround from five wins in 2023 to 11 in 2024 was the franchise’s best single-season improvement since 2004.

Yet the team fell short of ending another key drought. The Chargers haven’t won a playoff game since 2018.

“Their season last year, they were really close,” Becton said. “They need a few pieces and I feel like I’m one of those pieces that can help out.”

The Chargers’ immediate success under Harbaugh was a top selling point for Conklin, who has had just one winning season in his seven-year NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings and Jets. With only one day of voluntary workouts done, Conklin was determined to keep expectations in check.

“I think the big thing is how do we come to this building every day and create better relationships as teammates, from player to coach,” Conklin said, “and how do we master the playbook and get as athletic and explosive as possible to perform at the level that we need to perform at. …

“We all know the aspirations of all NFL teams and I think a big thing for us is just the day-by-day approach, how can we get better every day and just let that keep carrying on.”

Cade Cunningham had 33 points and 12 rebounds, Dennis Schroder made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 55 seconds left, and the Detroit Pistons snapped their NBA-record, 15-game postseason losing streak by beating the New York Knicks 100-94 on Monday night in Game 2 of their playoff series.

The Pistons, who hadn’t even been to the postseason since 2019, recovered after the Knicks erased a 15-point deficit to earn their first playoff victory since Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against Boston. The Celtics won the final two games of that series and the Pistons were then swept in 2009, 2006 and 2019 before dropping Game 1 at Madison Square Garden.

Now they are back in the win column, all tied in the series and will host Game 3 on Thursday night.

Schroder, who wasn’t even on the Pistons until a trade in February, nailed the 3-pointer after the Knicks had used a 16-4 run to tie it at 94 on Josh Hart’s dunk. He finished with 20 points off the bench.

The Pistons engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history this season, going 44-38 after a 14-win season in 2023-24 that included a 28-game losing streak, longest ever in a single season.

They were then in good shape to win Game 1 with an eight-point lead after three quarters, before the Knicks used a 21-0 run in the fourth to win 123-112. Detroit built another eight-point advantage after three Monday, and this time made the big plays after another Knicks rally.

Jalen Brunson scored 37 points for the No. 3-seeded Knicks, but Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby were each limited to 10 after both finished with 23 points in the opener.

Cunningham bounced back with a strong performance after the All-Star guard was just 8 for 21 in Game 1. The Knicks struggled to keep him out of the paint and defend him without fouling, as the Pistons shot 14 free throws to the Knicks’ two while building a 55-49 lead at halftime.

The Pistons then held New York to just one basket in the first seven-plus minutes of the third quarter. Cunningham and Tobias Harris each had two baskets in an 11-0 run that Paul Reed, playing because backup center Isaiah Stewart was out with right knee inflammation, capped with a basket that gave the Pistons their largest lead at 68-53 with 5:02 remaining in the third.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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