Stephen A. Smith addresses Shannon Sharpe’s return to ESPN

ESPN parted methods with Shannon Sharpe after the sexual assault lawsuit in opposition to him, and it seems like Stephen A. Smith could be in favor of bringing him again.

It’s been almost one 12 months since Sharpe was accused of sexual assault and opted to step away from his ESPN tasks. Sharpe settled the $50 million lawsuit in opposition to him final summer season, however ESPN nonetheless determined in opposition to welcoming the Pro Football Hall of Famer again to First Take.

Monday afternoon, a listener referred to as Smith’s SiriusXM present on Mad Dog Sports Radio and talked about they might love for him to carry Sharpe again to First Take. And it seems like Smith agreesit is simply not his choice to make.

“That’s my boy, I got nothing but love for him. I wish I had him back,” Smith mentioned. “That’s gonna always be my boy. My whole crew; Ryan Clark and Swagu and everybody in between. I got nothing but love for all those brothers, so they always know they are welcome on any platform that I have, but I don’t make all the decisions. I make them here on my radio show, I make them on my YouTube channel. ESPN, not so much, that’s the challenge. But you know, it’s a work in progress.”

Referring to Shannon Sharpe’s standing with ESPN as a “work in progress” implies Stephen A. Smith might have had conversations about bringing him again to First Take. When Sharpe introduced he was stepping away from ESPN amid the sexual assault lawsuit in opposition to him final April, he additionally shared plans of returning earlier than the NFL season. Sharpe finally settled the lawsuit in late July, which can have been too shut to the beginning of the season for ESPN to really take into account bringing him again. But if Smith remains to be pushing for Sharpe’s return as we get nearer to subsequent soccer season, it is cheap to ponder whether ESPN will imagine sufficient time has handed to welcome him again.

ESPN does not want Shannon Sharpe, however he undoubtedly generated extra consideration than every other analyst at the moment on First Takand. And Sharpe equally does not want ESPN, however he ought to need it in the event that they’re keen to have him. Because as profitable as Nightcap and Shay Shay Club are, being on ESPN nonetheless retains him related with a unique viewers, and serves as an excellent promotional software for his personal media firm, simply because it does for Smith’s numerous exhibits and initiatives away from the Worldwide Leader.

Stephen A. Smith equally vouched for Michael Irvin to return to First Take after his newest authorized difficulty two years in the past. And this previous season, Irvin started making appearances on First Take once more now that he was additional faraway from having the lawsuit in opposition to him dismissed. It seems like Smith is perhaps hoping to see the identical factor occur with Sharpe.