Sports journalist Jason Whitlock is critical of Shannon Sharpe and ESPN after a 20-year-old woman sued the ESPN host for $50 million and accused him of rape.
The lawsuit was filed in Nevada by a woman identified as “Jane Doe” – who accused Shannon of multiple sexual assaults.
Jane Doe’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, sent TMZ Sports an audio clip on Tuesday, alleging that Shannon threatened to choke her. The conversation allegedly took place towards the end of Doe’s relationship with Shannon.
“Oh, Lord have mercy,” Shannon can be heard saying in the audio. “If you say that word one more time, I’m going to f***ing choke the s*** out of you when I see you.”
After a long pause, the woman tells Shannon, “I don’t want to be choked,” but he can be heard replying, “Yes, you do. I don’t think you have a choice in the matter.”
Buzbee tells TMZ, “the contents of this clip are certainly not sexual. They are not playful. They are instead disturbing, aggressive, and dangerous.”
“This audio,” he continued, “paints a very clear picture of how Sharpe treated Jane Doe, leading her to escape from him by leaving Nevada and blocking all contact with him.”
On Monday, Shannon’s attorney released dozens of sexually explicit text messages exchanged between Shannon and Doe.
The text messages seem to exonerate the 56-year-old ESPN host of any wrongdoing. However, Jason claims that Shannon has a “long sordid history with women” who accuse Shannon of sexual harassment. “There’s a 20-year pattern.”
Jason added that Shannon lost his job at CBS Sports because a woman made similar allegations of rape against him. “This is an open secret,” he said.
“The reason why I’m critical of ESPN … OK, maybe this woman is lying. But anybody with a brain knows that Shannon has a long sordid history with women making allegations about him and lawsuits being settled,” said Jason.
Jason went on to say that maybe ESPN welcomes this sort of scandal because they are hoping it will make Shannon “even more popular, even more powerful” and drive ratings.
Shannon is expected to sign a new deal with ESPN worth $100 million to license his podcast and video content. Shannon and ESPN reached a deal last year to expand his appearances on ESPN’s “First Take.”
Watch Jason’s livestream below.
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) April 22, 2025
