The steady rise of Shannon Sharpe since his time with Skip Bayless on UNDISPUTED has been something to witness. After taking notice of his growing popularity, he started his Club Shay Shay podcast, which has hosted dozens of viral interviews.
But none is greater than his sit-down with comedian Katt Williams which currently sits at 89.2 million views. There, the latter gave his brutally honest thoughts on the industry, and it led to some incredible moments. One of which was his Nostradamus-like prediction about the downfall of Diddy.
Shannon Sharpe was already very accomplished before this, but it took him to new heights. This career milestone is what his now-colleague over at ESPN, Stephen A Smith, believes has brought out the haters tenfold. He related this theory to the ex-NFL tight end's $50 million rape lawsuit that's hanging over his head for over a week now.
In a recent interview with Big Boy, the face of ESPN and First Take star presented this belief and spoke on the "zest with which people are willing to pounce on [Shannon Sharpe]." "People have been after him since he did Katt Williams," Smith began. "They've been at his neck because of the numbers he produced and the success that it had and how he was able to ride that wave."
Shannon Sharpe Rape Lawsuit
Overall, he's got a real problem with the "glee and joy" that people are having in watching Shannon struggle like this. Because of this, Smith wants his friend and everyone else out there to know that "he matters to me, and I want him to be okay."
Stephen A's answer and commentary on the matter seems to reflect what Big Boy thinks is going on with the lawsuit. The latter believes something fishy is going on, especially with Tony Buzbee repping the defendant, Gabriella Zuniga. He and Smith cited his controversial court battle with Diddy and Jay-Z over similar allegations and how that ultimately failed.
But we will see what happens in the coming weeks with Sharpe as he handles his business. He's vehemently denied all the sexual assault and abuse accusations Zuniga has hurled at him. Him and his lawyer Lanny J. Davis did try to settle the suit about a month before for $10 million, but she turned the offer down.
