This week’s Shannon Sharpe news cycle has been truly wild. The ESPN contributor and podcast host lectured Nightcap co-host Chad Johnson on professionalism Monday over taking a rideshare rather than a car service, then promptly undermined that Wednesday. There, Sharpe broadcast audio on his Instagram Live page, with that audio being of him having a sexual encounter.
Following that, Sharpe’s social media team quickly put out a claim on his X/Twitter profile that his account had been hacked, only for him to admit this was indeed him. And it doesn’t seem to have worked out too badly for him; Sharpe’s received largely supportive comments from coworkers, and ESPN isn’t expected to punish him (contrary to a fake news claim by X/Twitter AI program Grok).
And, now, Sharpe and Johnson’s Nightcap is…selling shirts referencing this?
That’s My Michelle shirts dropped 😒
I told yall to leave that lady alone, but yall kept harassing Unc—knowing that man ain’t got but 1 good nerve left, thanks to Chad—so here we are.
Are you happy now 😩@ShannonSharpe @ochocinco @ShayShayMedia_ @eightyfourclo pic.twitter.com/LBQsgXLthp
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) September 13, 2024
There’s no link there, but yes, Sharpe’s “EIGHTYFOUR” brand does have quite the collection of shirts referencing this. Those range from a 76 gas station logo switched to “69 Michelle,” with an “Official Fuel of Nightcap” line playing off NASCAR (and even the colors and look of its logo), to the “That’s My Michelle” quote on t-shirts from the “Nightclap Film Dept.”
And this has taken some criticism, and even some suggestions that the whole thing was staged. Here’s some of that:
When I posted something about this mess on Facebook, @WhereWomenBloom made a great point that no apologies to the woman in question were made.
Instead, there’s…this. From a 56-year-old and 46-year-old former jocks.
Nasty work. https://t.co/ET08bgGl8F
— With EVERYBODY Sayin’ – C! J! Writes! YEAH! (@CJWritesNThangs) September 13, 2024
Between this and the Ro ads, we gotta assume this was all intentional, right? https://t.co/OpkLBEzD2z
— James (@OaklandAboveAll) September 13, 2024
He totally posted that audio tape “accidentally” on purpose. No question in my mind. Just goes to show, you can have all the muscles in the world, have a HoF NFL career, keep your muscles well after normal age, and still be insecure about your sexuality. pic.twitter.com/6cjrZpmduM https://t.co/v6XOqrlcj4
— merriam 🇰🇳 (@merriamw4101) September 13, 2024
🙄🙄🙄🙄 https://t.co/iwFyO6WNxh pic.twitter.com/X4UqfFOKF5
— Melech. (@MelechThomas) September 13, 2024
This shit worse than the Bad Built Butch Body shirts. Clout demons can’t just let a moment go they gotta cash in.
Everything after the episode of Nightcap the day of has been lame. https://t.co/B3OEvwBfj4
— JustTIM (@ReignCoates) September 13, 2024
The ability to turn something lame at this speed is commendable https://t.co/mGbSL429nV
— Pierre F. Bardi (@PrincePFB) September 13, 2024
The real question here, though, as one person noted, is the potential confusion with Guns N’ Roses and their famed 1987 “My Michelle” song:
This hilarious but Guns N’ Roses was hollerin this in ‘88 https://t.co/55rMAwYmNL
— Tennessee Traveler (@tennesseejc) September 13, 2024
Sharpe certainly has gotten some legal pushback in the past. We’ll see if that extends to a cease-and-desist from Axl Rose.
[Nightcap on X/Twitter; EIGHTYFOUR]
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.