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Shannon Sharpe stepped away from his role at ESPN on Thursday amid accusations of assault against a romantic partner more than three decades his younger. Now it appears that the Pro Football Hall of Fame member is dealing with allegations of violence for more than the first time. A new report claims that Sharpe and Fox Sports settled a similar claim during his time with the company.
Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reports that Sharpe stood accused of choking a female production assistant in the workplace during his time at Fox Sports. One of Glasspiegel’s sources revealed that Sharpe and Fox settled with the accuser for several hundred thousand dollars. Sharpe did not face a lawsuit for the incident.
Coincidentally, Sharpe and his current accuser, Gabriella Zuniga, were in talks to settle their dispute before Zuniga opted to instead take her claim to civil court, according to Sharpe’s representation. Sharpe’s reps also now deny any incident of workplace violence while at Fox Sports.
“There was no incident of choking involving Shannon on the FS1 set. On one occasion, he and a few colleagues were involved in some light physical interaction in a playful context,” the rep told Front Office Sports. “Fox Sports later chose to resolve the matter privately. For further details, we recommend contacting Fox directly.”
Shannon Sharpe Faced Prior Allegations Of Sexual Assault Dating Back To 2010
Additionally, Sharpe faced accusations of sexual assault in 2010, which caused him to step away from his role as a host of CBS’s NFL Today studio show. He later returned to the network following the dismissal of a restraining order.
Sharpe’s attorneys are now claiming that Gabriella Zuniga is attempting to blackmail their client.
“The plaintiff demanded tens of millions of dollars in a proceeding that’s called mediation. In return for her not publishing this tape, which she showed the lawyers for Mr. Sharpe,” attorney Lanny Davis stated.
Davis noted that Sharpe agreed to pay Zuniga a sum of $10 million before she chose to sue instead. Negotiations then broke down, leading to the current circumstances.