As speculation continues to mount around Shannon Sharpe following an explosive rape and sexual assault lawsuit, his First Take co-host, Stephen A. Smith, is speaking out publicly for the first time.

Addressing the controversy on his personal podcast, Smith described the situation as “sad” and expressed his support for Sharpe while remaining measured in his comments.

“I’m sincerely hopeful and prayerful that he’s innocent,” Smith said, acknowledging the gravity of the allegations.

The lawsuit has garnered additional attention following the release of the alleged victim’s name and a series of explicit text messages by Sharpe’s legal team—moves intended to demonstrate that the relationship was consensual. Smith, however, questioned the strategy.

“They mentioned her name and revealed some of those explicit text messages,” he said. “That was uncomfortable. And I don’t know if that’s a strategy that will work.”

Smith also confirmed that executives at Disney, which owns ESPN, are aware of the lawsuit and the evolving public discourse around it.

“To be clear, even though this podcast is owned and operated solely by me, that doesn’t mean I’m dismissive of ESPN, who employs me in my daytime job on First Take,” he said. “They are aware that I was going to address this because I owe them that courtesy.”

While Smith serves as executive producer of First Take, he acknowledged that final decisions are not his to make.

“I’d love to tell you that I know the answer to what happens next, but I don’t. I’m not the boss. There are layers to this—some of which even I’m not part of.”

He added that he spoke directly with Disney co-chairman Jimmy Pitaro, who, according to Smith, emphasized that the company is taking the matter "very, very seriously."

“We’re looking into this closely, and once we gather as many facts as possible, we’ll move forward,” Smith quoted Pitaro as saying. “That is all he said—and I mention his name with his permission.”

Smith closed his remarks with a hopeful but cautious sentiment: “In my perfect world, this ends like the Jay-Z situation, where the case is ultimately dropped and Shannon is able to continue on First Take and keep thriving.”

Source: YouTube