‘First Take’ Host Stephen A. Smith Says Shannon Sharpe’s ESPN Leave Is ‘A Blow to Me Personally’ – but Not a Surprise

Stephen A. Smith opened up about his “First Take” co-host Shannon Sharpe stepping away from the ESPN show following rape allegations that were filed in a lawsuit earlier this week.

While speaking on his YouTube show Friday, Smith emphasized that he would always be there for Sharpe and that he does not believe his co-host is guilty of the allegations. An ex-girlfriend accused the former NFL star of rape and is seeking $50 million in damages.

“Do I believe that Shannon Sharpe is guilty of what he has been accused of? Absolutely not. That is my personal opinion,” Smith said. “The brother that I’ve come to know, I don’t believe would assault or rape anybody, and I’m going to state that emphatically, but just as emphatically, I’m going to remind everybody it is my opinion, because of what I feel about him, and not in any way imply that I know a damn thing beyond that, because I don’t know.”

He continued: “I’ll always be here for him if he needs me. Just the same way I said that about Skip Bayless when he departed from Fox, just the same way that I would say about any of my friends,” Smith added. “That’s what friends do, even in the toughest of times, sometimes especially the toughest of times, they ain’t telling you you’re right all the time, and hell, sometimes they may not stop you from falling into that abyss, but they’re there to lift you up when nobody else will.”

The former NFL star announced Thursday he was stepping away from “First Take” following the accusations to be with his family, but planned to return for the NFL pre-season.

“My statement is found here and this is the truth. The relationship in question was 100% consensual,” the “Club Shay Shay” host wrote in an X post. “At this juncture, I am 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 pre-season.”

During his YouTube show, Smith added that he understands why Sharpe chose to step back at ESPN for a bit.

“It’s been a difficult week from a sports media perspective, certainly as it pertains to ‘First Take,’ Shannon Sharpe became a friend when I recruited him to come on board on ESPN ‘First Take,’ he came on board, and he did a sensational job … he helped take it to another level last year, and we were doing our thing this year as well,” Smith said. “And so when the news came down that he and ESPN had mutually agreed that he would need to come off the airwaves of ESPN, it was a blow, a blow to the show, a blow to me personally, because I’m going to miss him, but it was not a surprise.”

On Sunday, a woman who has been described as being in her early 20s filed the lawsuit under the name Jane Doe in Nevada’s Clark County, stating that Sharpe raped her in her apartment last October and in January, per The New York Times. The two were allegedly in a relationship for two years. The woman claims that during the acts, she cried out and pleaded for him to stop.

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