No, ESPN has not fired Shannon Sharpe for X-rated livestream as of Sept. 13, 2024

After sports commentator and former National Football League player Shannon Sharpe accidentally livestreamed a sexual encounter, social media users claimed ESPN had fired him from the network’s TV programs.

“Dang he got fired on his day off,” one Facebook user wrote Sept. 11 in the caption of a post that included a screenshot of a social media post that said “BREAKING: ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe, per @ESPNNBA,” referring to an official social media handle of the ESPN brand.

This post and others were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

But ESPN told PolitiFact on Sept. 13 that Sharpe would continue to appear on the network as normally scheduled.

Sharpe’s Instagram account livestreamed video Sept. 10 that included audio of Sharpe’s sexual encounter with an unnamed woman.

Sharpe described the video as an accident and apologized in a Sept. 11 episode of the “Nightcap” podcast he co-hosts.

He said he had talked to ESPN about the event and would continue to appear on the network.

USA Today Sports and other news outlets reported Sept. 12 that ESPN said Sharpe would continue to appear on the network. 

We rate the claim that “ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe” False. 

By

Gideon Hess

Digital Research Analyst

September 13, 2024

Truth-o-meter Ruling

False

IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT

• ESPN commentator and former National Football League player Shannon Sharpe apologized Sept. 11 after a sexually explicit Instagram livestream from his account.

• ESPN told PolitiFact on Sept. 13 that Sharpe would continue to appear on the network.

Statement

“ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe.”

Context

a post

Speaker/Target

Speaker: Facebook posts

Statement Date

September 11, 2024