If ESPN has any issue with Shannon Sharpe’s sex tape, the NFL star turned media mogul should know he has an ally in Pat McAfee.
Sharpe dominated social media Wednesday afternoon, when he went on Instagram Live during a sexual encounter. Viewers could not see anyone during the Instagram Live session, but they could hear a lot. Screen recordings of the Instagram Live event quickly stretched across social media, prompting someone from Sharpe’s team to shut down the video and post a message claiming he was hacked.
To Sharpe’s credit, he had that message removed and later went on Nightcap with co-host Chad Johnson to admit those sex noises were indeed coming from his mouth.
Hey Shannon Sharpe.. WAY TO GO 👏#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/zQwUqSgcTh
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 12, 2024
“Shout out to Unc by the way,” McAfee said at the beginning of his Thursday show on ESPN. “You handled it perfectly on Nightcap, we’re all very thankful that you did that instead of a fake, ‘I was hacked!’ Impossible. We all knew it was impossible as it was happening…but also, didn’t see anything. Didn’t see nothing. Heard a lot.”
“If it was a work, they had seven of the top eight trends yesterday while Unc was doing his thing,” McAfee continued. “For Unc, I hope he’s not embarrassed by the situation – doesn’t sound like he is – he should feel pretty good coming out of the entirety of that. And I don’t think anybody ever thought of that, just an audio-only sex tape. I don’t think anybody ever thought of that, seems like it’s pretty good.”
Sharpe claimed he was “embarrassed” while discussing the incident on Nightcap. Although he definitely didn’t appear to be embarrassed while discussing the incident on Nightcap, because he clearly wasn’t inclined to hold anything back.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer was able to take solace in knowing his podcasts were about to garner more attention off his NSFW Instagram Live session. But Sharpe must have been at least briefly concerned that his audio-only sex tape might impact his standing with ESPN and First Take. ESPN previously fired Paul Pierce in 2021 after he went on Instagram Live while drinking and smoking with exotic dancers performing in the background. But by the time he was on Nightcap for his tell-all, Sharpe had already spoken to executives at ESPN and The Volume, seemingly believing those professional connections would remain intact.
If by some chance, however, ESPN decides to follow the precedent they set after Pierce’s Instagram Live gaffe, Sharpe could always seek getting back on the network by way of his apparent ally in Pat McAfee.
