Anyone who’s watched Shannon Sharpe on TV or on his highly popular (and parodied) Club Shay Shay podcast surely knows he’s rarely one to mince words. The ex-NFL player and media personality has shared his honest thoughts on a myriad of topics. He’s also not against taking his colleagues to task if he feels it's warranted. Amid the 2024 TV schedule, Sharpe just went off on his ESPN coworkers after they criticized him during the recent Ohio State game, and his brutally honest sentiments were shared during First Take.
Ohio State played Tennessee amid the college football playoffs, per Awful Announcing, and the former team won the game 42-17. Near the end of the broadcast, ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit defended the Buckeyes’ coach, Ryan Day, who’s recently drawn the ire of fans and pundits. While speaking to Chris Fowler about how OU’s win would sit with fans following the school’s recent loss to Michigan State, Herbstreit said the “lunatic fringe” at the school “is as powerful as anywhere in the country.”
Additionally, Kirk Herbstreit called out his colleagues at First Take for supposedly hyping up the narrative that Ryan Day should've fired following the Michigan State loss. Herbstreit stated that the aforementioned show thought Day was “done,” before saying that he was interested in seeing what they'd talk about in the coming week. Well, that day has arrived, and, when Shannon Sharped addressed Herbstreit and Chris Fowler, he was not pleased. Check Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith in the following clip:
As seen in the video above, the three-time Super Bowl winner did indeed give the Buckeyes’ kudos for their emphatic victory. At the same time, he also extended a level of grace to his colleagues who called the game over the weekend. Nevertheless, the famed tight end also stressed that he didn’t appreciate the comments in the first place. One particularly pointed statement was the assertion that “ESPN ain’t got enough bosses” to keep him from responding to them should such sentiments be made about him again.
This isn’t the first time Shannon Sharpe has taken issue with one of his colleagues at a network. Last year, the ex-Denver Bronco came into conflict with former Undisputed co-host Skip Bayless, after he made comments in regard to Buffalo Bill Damar Hamlin's medical emergency during a game. Sharpe didn’t appear on an installment of the show shortly after that game and, when he did return, he and Bayless became engaged in a war of words within 45 seconds of the show starting. Sharpe ultimately exited the show in May 2023.
Shannon Sharpe’s latest on-air comments mark yet another interesting development in his tenure at ESPN, which began in September 2023. Since then, he’s caught viewers' attention for accidentally calling Stephen A. Smith “Skip” (and Smith has been understanding of that). Also, just this past September, Sharpe went viral after he seemingly live-streamed a sex act by accident. During that time, another colleague, Michelle Beadle, poked fun at him for the faux pas.
Now, when it comes to this latest situation, the question is whether Kirk Herbstreit and/or Chris Fowler will choose to respond to their fellow broadcaster’s warning. Neither of them have responded to the statements, as of this writing. We’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out and whether or not any of ESPN’s bosses will indeed have to get involved.
