Stephen A. Smith sensed ESPN wouldn't let Shannon Sharpe remain on the air

Hall of Fame tight end and media personality Shannon Sharpe stepped aside from his two-days-per-week employment with ESPN, in the aftermath of the filing of a civil complaint against him alleging sexual assault and other claims. While Sharpe didn’t step aside until Thursday, his on-air First Take partner knew it was coming on Monday, after he saw the news of the lawsuit.

Via BarrettSportsMedia.com, Stephen A. Smith recently explained in an appearance on the BigBoyTV podcast that he sensed right away what the end result would be.

“Although I was hopeful that it ultimately would not lead to him being off the air, I knew it wasn’t going to go down like that because I know Disney,” Smith said. “The court of public opinion is what the Disney’s of the world and others concerned themselves with. That’s a more immediate issue, and unfortunately, that has worked against him at this particular moment in time.”

Smith nevertheless said he believes Sharpe’s claim that he did nothing wrong.

“I know the brother tells me he’s innocent,” Smith said. “I believe him. I know that he does not trust easy, and that honest conversations that he’s had with me he wouldn’t have with just anybody. I’m going to honor that, and I’m going to make sure that he knows and that everybody knows that no matter how things go down, not to say that he would rely on me, but if he ever chose to, anything that I can do for him as a friend I will do.”

After the news of the lawsuit emerged on Monday, Sharpe’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, conducted a Tuesday afternoon press conference. Davis said Sharpe offered “at least $10 million” to settle the claim before suit was filed. Davis thereafter insisted that the eight-figure offer does not undermine Sharpe’s claim of innocence.

After Sharpe announced he would exit ESPN until the start of the NFL preseason, Deadline.com reported that ESPN was in the process of sidelining him. Sharpe’s team issued a statement insisting that Sharpe acted on his own.

Sharpe said he was exiting ESPN to “focus on his family and the frivolous claim filed against him.” Sharpe has nevertheless continued to produce podcast content; last weekend, he recorded shows from the draft in Green Bay.