What were the charges against Shannon Sharpe? Lawsuit explored as ESPN parts ways with 'First Take' host

Shannon Sharpe, who is regarded as the greatest tight end of all time and a former NFL player, won't be continuing his journey with ESPN. According to a report published by The Athletic on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, ESPN has decided to cut ties with Sharpe.

This news comes just weeks after Shannon settled a $50 million lawsuit related to sexual assault and battery accusations by an ex-girlfriend. Shannon had joined ESPN in 2023, and in April 2025, when the lawsuit was filed against him, he had decided to step back from his hosting duties. He announced that he would return by the start of NFL training camp and preseason.

More about Shannon Sharpe's lawsuit

In April 2025, in Clark County, Nevada, a woman using the pseudonym "Jane Doe" filed a $50 million lawsuit against Sharpe. She was later identified as Gabriella Zuniga, Shannon's ex-girlfriend.

He was accused of sexual assault, rape, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and non-consensual recording and sharing of intimate encounters without consent. Zuniga also said that in their nearly two years of relationship, Sharpe had raped her and behaved aggressively with her, according to BBC.

Sharpe had then denied all the allegations and called it a "shakedown," and insisted that the relationship was consensual and included role-playing and fantasy scenarios. He posted a social media video, where he denied the allegations and said:

''This is a shakedown. I’m going to be open, transparent and defend myself because this isn’t right. This is all being orchestrated by Tony Buzbee.''

Tony Buzbee represented the woman who filed the $50 million civil lawsuit against Sharpe. In the following days, Sharpe's lawyer, Lanny J. Davis, released text exchanges suggesting mutual, consensual behavior and claimed Sharpe had offered a $10 million settlement before the lawsuit was filed.

While the lawsuit was going on, Tony Buzbee had released an audio recording of Sharpe allegedly threatening Gabriella, as per NBC News. In the recording, he was caught saying:

''I’m going to f---ing choke the s—t out of you.''

The case, however, did not make it to trial, as in July 2025, the lawsuit was settled confidentially and dismissed with prejudice, ending any possibility of refiling. The news of the settlement was shared by the attorney Toney on X (formerly Twitter), in which he said:

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''On April 20, 2025, The Buzbee Law Firm filed a complaint in Nevada making several allegations against Shannon Sharpe on behalf of our client. oth sides acknowledge a long-term consensual and tumultuous relationship. After protracted and respectful negotiations, I’m pleased to announce that we have reached a mutually agreed upon resolution. All matters have now been addressed satisfactorily, and the matter is closed. The lawsuit will thus be dismissed with prejudice.''

Further details from the settlement were not publicly shared.

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