Shannon Sharpe says people are 'glad' he has problems in rare comment about $50m rape lawsuit
Shannon Sharpe says people are 'glad' he has problems in rare comment about $50m rape lawsuit
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By ALEX RASKIN
NFL great and podcaster Shannon Sharpe finally spoke to his YouTube audience about the $50 million sexual assault lawsuit he's facing in Nevada.
'Everybody knows what I'm going through,' the legendary Denver Broncos tight end told former Cincinnati Bengals star and Night Cap co-host, Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson.
Sharpe has denied raping the woman, an ex-girlfriend identified in her filing as Jane Doe. Although he's continuing with both of his popular podcasts, the Pro Football Hall of Famer has stepped away from his part-time duties at ESPN.
He has avoided discussing the controversial topic on his shows, but couldn't help himself while offering some words of encouragement to Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback and Deion Sanders' son, Shedeur.
Asked about proving his doubters wrong after falling from a projected first-round pick to the fifth round of last month's NFL Draft, Shedeur told reporters at the Browns rookie minicamp last week that he's primarily focused on 'proving myself right.'
Sharpe applauded that answer on Monday while speaking with Johnson on Night Cap. Then he veered into his own personal problems.
NFL great and podcaster Shannon Sharpe finally spoke to his YouTube audience about the sexual assault lawsuit he's facing in Nevada
'Stop worrying about what people who don't know you think,' he said. 'Stop worrying about that… I just need the people that I love to love me.'
Sharpe began speaking a bit slower as alluded to the rape allegations he's currently facing.
'Obviously, the elephant is not in the room, Sharpe continued. 'He outside. Everybody knows what I'm going through. Lot of people have a lot to say. But, as my brother [former Packers receiver Sterling Sharpe] been calling me, I met a lot of people, and thank y'all to everybody that's reached out and the thoughts and prayers - I sincerely appreciate that - but when you think about it, Ocho, man, 50 percent of the people don't care that you got problems.
'The other 50 percent glad that you got them.'
Johnson responded by encouraging Sharpe to continue.
'Come on, Pastor, take your time,' Johnson said before gulping down a can of orange soda.
Sharpe then veered back to the topic of Sheduer, who appeared appreciative for the opportunity he's getting in Cleveland despite last month's humiliating tumble down draft boards.
'Sometimes all you need is an opportunity and now what you do with that opportunity will tell us who and what you are,' Sharpe said. 'But the thing is that you have to learn that, I'm learning and it's still a learning process, is that you got to drown out the noise, man. You can't be concerned with everybody because everybody's going to have an opinion.'
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders was all smiles while talking with media
Sharpe's words then began to take on a personal tone.
'Everybody think they know you, they really do, everybody think they know you when they really don't,' he said. 'They heard this or they heard that. Have you ever talked to Shannon? Have you ever been around with Shannon?.. What what makes you think you know him? How well do you know him? So, Shedeur, just go do your thing. That's all he can do now. Now it's about playing, at some point the talking will stop.'
In spite of his public humiliation at last month's NFL Draft, Sanders was all smiles while talking with media at last week's rookie minicamp in Berea, Ohio.
His tumble to Day 3 of the draft effectively cost Shedeur millions over the life of his rookie contract, which he joked about on Saturday: 'I'm not trying to buy anything. My signing bonus ain't that high right now.'
Going by the rookie salary scale, Shedeur will likely get a four-year deal worth around $4.6 million, which is a far cry from the tens of millions he would have earned as a first-round pick.
Since that embarrassment, various reports have emerged accusing the younger Sanders of botching his pre-draft interviews with team reps, some of whom were said to be turned off by the former Buffaloes star's attitude.
But rather than attacking his critics or even denying the anonymous reports, the 23-year-old struck a decidedly optimistic tone with reporters on Saturday: 'My job isn't to prove people wrong, it's to prove myself right.'
The attorney representing Sharpe's ex-girlfriend in her $50 million has released audio of two conversations between the former couple, which his attorney has dismissed as 'misleading.'
'I'm not really interested in getting choked,' the woman is heard saying in one tape recording first published by TMZ.
'I may choke you in public,' a man's voice, believed to Sharpe's, is said heard saying. 'Big black guy chokes small white woman.'
The woman responded after a brief pause: 'It's not a good look, Shannon.'
'Not a good look that you did what the s*** you did to me,' the man's voice fired back, although it's difficult to say what he was referring to.
The tape is eerily similar to another call previously released by Buzbee's office to DailyMail.com in which Sharpe is heard saying: 'I'm gonna f***ing choke the s*** out of you when I see you.'
Sharpe's attorney has confirmed the authenticity of that recording, but claimed his client was speaking 'in the heat of the moment' and the violent threat was 'not intended.'
Sharpe has denied the allegations and accused the plaintiff of being financially motivated, although his attorney has confirmed he previously offered at least $10 million to settle the case with his accuser.
Davis named the accuser in an April statement that also included several sexually explicit text messages she allegedly sent to the three-time Super Bowl winner. Furthermore, Sharpe's lawyer released purported text messages between the accuser and his client, including one from early January in which she appears to accuse him of rape: 'no means no shannon.'
In his own statement, her attorney Tony Buzbee claimed 'an incredibly damning video does indeed exist' and its contents will 'speak volumes about Mr. Sharpe and his behavior.'
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Both Davis and his client have since demanded Buzbee release an unedited version of the footage, which they suggest will be deceptively changed to incriminate Sharpe.
'Do not touch, do not tamper, do not alter that tape that we believe, without any doubt, was substantially edited, so that when it's posted, as we expect it to be, we will immediately explain how edited and warped and distorted and out of context it is,' Davis said. 'We will get a copy of that tape, and then we will see whether it's been tampered with.'
Buzbee has already denied altering the footage.
'The statement from Sharpe's newest lawyer falsely accuses Ms. Jane Doe of editing a video — a claim that is not only demonstrably false, but also desperate,' Buzbee wrote. 'The lawyer also suggests Ms. Doe refused to make the video available to Mr. Sharpe. Again, this assertion is easily proven untrue.
'Here's what is true,' Buzbee continued. 'Although Jane Doe never referenced any video or multiple audios that she possesses in the lawsuit that she filed, now that Mr. Sharpe's lawyer has decided to broach that subject, we will address it.'
That aforementioned video 'will be played to the jury,' Buzbee wrote in his statement.
Nevada
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