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Dave Portnoy recently joined Shannon Sharpe on his podcast, as the former NFL player faces a $50 million sexual assault lawsuit.
Sharpe, 56, has taken a temporary leave from his position on ESPN First Take following rape accusations by an ex-girlfriend he first encountered when she was 19.
Following the public revelation of the lawsuit, another former partner, Michele Evans, has also stepped forward, sharing separate allegations of sexual assault during their relationship with the Daily Mail.
Sharpe furiously denies any wrongdoing, saying in a statement when announcing his temporary First Take departure that he will be ‘dealing with these false and disruptive allegations set against me.’
And amid the accusations, the Denver Broncos legend has been joined on the latest episode of his ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast by Barstool Sports founder Portnoy.
The pair’s link-up comes just one month after Portnoy revealed Sharpe dealt him ‘the biggest insult of my professional career’ by not releasing one of his previous appearances on the podcast.
Dave Portnoy appears on the latest episode of Shannon Sharpe’s ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast
Sharpe is currently battling a $50million rape lawsuit filed by one of his ex-girlfriends
‘Never aired it! I did a favor, my time! Spiked it,’ he said on the Barstool Rundown podcast. ‘Why would he still be holding it? No, you don’t bank it for years. Listen, I walked out, I didn’t think it was great but I didn’t think it was getting spiked. What an insult!’
However, Sharpe announced Wednesday that he is set to release a podcast episode with Portnoy at 12pm ET, though it is unclear whether it is the same one the sports media tycoon claims was ‘spiked’ or if it is a more recent interview.
If the latter, it would be a stunning show of support amid the shocking allegations that are being leveled at Sharpe.
Portnoy has faced scandals of his own in the past after being accused of sexual misconduct in a 2021 Business Insider expose, which alleged he had violent and aggressive sexual encounters with women and that he filmed them without their consent.
‘I was literally screaming in pain,’ one woman was quoted as saying.
He vehemently denied the claims, insisting the article was a ‘hit piece’ that had been eight months in the works and claiming the article insinuated he was a rapist.
After a second sexual misconduct piece was published, Portnoy later sued Insider, claiming its reporting was ‘false and defamatory,’ but the lawsuit was ultimately dismissed and he dropped his appeal in 2023. He was also never charged with any crime.
Sharpe, who won Super bOWLS as an NFL tight end, initially continued with his scheduled appearances on ESPN’s First Take last month after the bombshell rape lawsuit became public knowledge.
Last month Portnoy said Sharpe had ‘insulted’ him by spiking one of his podcast appearances
The Barstool Sports founder was left furious with Sharpe for not airing his podcast episode
Sharpe is now set to release an episode with Portnoy, though it is unclear when it was filmed
Yet on April 24 he announced that he was temporarily stepping aside from his TV duties amid the ongoing scandal.
After being hit by the lawsuit, the ESPN personality’s legal team accused the plaintiff of secretly recording a ‘consensual’ sexual encounter with the intention of editing and misrepresenting it for use in her case against him.
According to TMZ Sports, Sharpe’s rape accuser will not post the footage on social media as it is ‘key evidence’ in her lawsuit.
‘The only reason you know about the existence of a video recording is that Mr. Sharpe specifically referenced it in his bulls*** statement,’ the plaintiff’s attorney Tony Buzbee was quoted as saying. ‘The contents of the video was shared during the mediation process with Sharpe’s attorneys.
‘Again, Sharpe and his team disclosed that, not us. Sharpe himself was offered on more than one occasion to view it himself. He declined. We’ve never made any claims or threats about it and won’t do so.’
‘And no,’ he added, ‘we won’t be ‘releasing’ the video as it is key evidence in the case and will be treated as such.’
A separate accuser also came forward in a shocking interview with the Daily Mail to detail disturbing parallels between the $50m rape lawsuit and her own 15-year legal battle with the NFL great.
‘I was triggered, totally triggered,’ Michele Evans, now 52, said of Sharpe’s denials. ‘I believed her right away. How could I not after going through what I’ve been through?’
The ESPN analyst has been hit by a $50m rape lawsuit from one of his former girlfriends
Sharpe has also been accused of rape by a separate woman in Michele Evans (left)
Evans claimed she became romantically involved with the Denver Broncos tight end in the early 2000s when she was working as a local television reporter covering the team.
But Evans’ relationship with Sharpe came to an abrupt end in 2010 when he raped her orally and vaginally, according to legal filings.
A Sharpe spokesman told the Daily Mail that her ‘claims are ridiculous and completely without merit.’
And his attorneys continued: ‘It should be of no surprise that when someone famous is in the news, all sorts of people crawl out of the woodwork to share their connection to that person in an attempt to profit from that alleged relationship.
‘In many cases those stories or accusations are nothing more than old news, fanciful exaggerations, or sometimes blatant misrepresentations of fact.’
The statement continued: ‘Sadly, Ms. Evans became obsessed with Shannon and decided to manufacture a claim against him.
‘When she could not find a lawyer to pursue her outrageous story, she filed a civil complaint on her own that is completely devoid of merit’.
