The news comes after a week of troubling allegations about Sharpe’s actions. On Sunday, a Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against the commentator, alleging that he raped her and recorded other sexual acts between them, sometimes without her consent. On Tuesday, the accuser released a recording apparently of Sharpe saying, “If you say that word one more time, I’m gonna f—— choke the s— out of you when I see you,” per audio obtained by People. The same day, Sharpe’s attorney Lanny Davis said that his client had been nearing a $10 million settlement with the same accuser before the $50 million lawsuit was filed which, as NBC Sports notes, casts some serious doubt on Sharpe’s claims that the allegations are completely without merit.
“At this juncture I am electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties,” Sharpe says in a statement to The A.V. Club. “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. I sincerely appreciate the overwhelming and ongoing support I have received from my family, fans, friends and colleagues.” Sharpe also directed people to a video he shared on Instagram two days ago, wherein he called the allegations “a shakedown.”
