Stephen A. Smith reveals conversation he had with ESPN boss on Shannon Sharpe lawsuit

Stephen A.Smith said he received permission to deliver a message from ESPN and Disney about the $50 million civil lawsuit accusing Shannon Sharpe of rape that was filed by a woman under the pseudonym “Jane Doe” on Sunday.During Tuesday’s installment of his self-titled YouTube show, Smith explained that he spoke with co-chairman Jimmy Pitaro, who made it clear that the company is in the process of gathering facts and taking the matter very seriously.“I recruited Shannon… but I’m not the boss,” Smith said, referring to when Sharpe left Fox for ESPN in June 2023.

“Those are other folks.There are layers to this and there are certain layers that even I am not on.

I can tell you I also spoke to co-chairman of Disney, the boss, Jimmy Pitaro, who made it very, very clear that [ESPN is] 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.“And that is all he said.And I can mention his name because I received his permission to say that.

I don’t know what that means.”Smith emphasized that he wasn’t sure how the matter will move forward at ESPN.“I have no idea what direction ESPN and Disney will go in when it comes to this matter,” Smith said.

“All I do know is I won’t be me making the decision.It will be others upstairs.

In the end, all of us have someone to answer to.No matter how maverick we try to be and we own our own business… there are a bosses.

That’s the situation that unfortunately that Shannon Sharpe finds himself in at this particular moment in time.”Smith added that he spoke with Sharpe about the matter.“[Sharpe] was emphatic in stating his innocence that this is a shakedown,” Smith said, referring to Sharpe’s comments about the matter in an Instagram video earlier Tuesday.Sharpe, who denied the allegations through his lawyer in a statement on Monday, doubled down on his denial and called it a “shakedown” in ...