NFL legend and former ESPN analyst, Shannon Sharpe has found himself at the centre of controversy following an Instagram livestream that left 6,000 fans tuning in to unexpected and highly personal content. On Wednesday, Sharpe went viral after what many believed to be a “sex tape” was broadcasted during the live. What viewers heard? Moaning and many, well, explicit commentary.
Initially, the 56 year old Sharpe claimed his account had been hacked. But in a recent interview with The Nightcap Show, the Hall of Famer cleared the air in what can only be described as a brutally honest confession.
“I’m embarrassed. I’m someone that’s extremely private,” Sharpe admitted. “The audio was heard for the entire world to hear. People count on Shannon.”
Sharpe went on to express his disappointment, not with the actions of course, but with the fact that the audio leaked to the public. “I always try to be professional, even when behind closed doors. I’m very disappointed in myself. Not for the act, but for the audio to be heard.”
In his detailed remembrance of what went down, Sharpe explained how it all happened. After entering his bedroom, he tossed his phone onto the bed, unaware that the device had accidentally gone live. “All of a sudden, people are calling me, ‘Shannon you’re on IG Live. They can hear you having sex.’ My heart sank,” he said.
Now owning up to what happened, Sharpe admitted that the hacking claim was a hasty reaction to the unexpected incident. “I just got to tell them the truth. My phone wasn’t hacked; it was me being active. Unc ain’t lying.”
Social media, however, had a field day before Sharpe came clean. Many fans on X (formerly Twitter) were quick to call out the “hacked” excuse. “Shannon Sharpe, you can’t ‘I was hacked’ your way out of this one!” one user joked, while another said: “Ain’t no way you were hacked, just own up to it, Shannon!”
Even Sharpe’s ESPN colleagues couldn’t resist poking fun. NFL analyst Ryan Clark tweeted, “Man, when is the next episode of @NightcapShow_? That mug gonna be [fire],” with fellow analyst Damien Woody humorously adding, “The OG Shay Sharpe was doing what now?!”
Not so long after his confession, it was confirmed that the star was fired from ESPN.
The timing for all this is rather awkward, considering Sharpe recently called out his Nightcap co-host Chad “OchoCinco” Johnson for a lack of professionalism, urging him to take the show as seriously as Sharpe does with his commitments to First Take and Inside the NFL. Hectic!
Main Image: Complex
