“When you have something to lose, you gotta act like it”: Charlamagne tha God reacts to Shannon Sharpe being fired from ESPN

Former footballer and ESPN's football analyst, Shannon Sharpe, will not return to the sports network after the break he took in April 2025. ESPN announced on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, that it had cut ties with the former Hall of Fame player. The sports network's decision came days after Sharpe settled a s*xual assault lawsuit filed against him by a former girlfriend.

The footballer had taken a break from his role at ESPN in April after the suit had been filed. The New York Times' The Athletic reported that Sharpe had said at the time that he would return to ESPN when the NFL training season began.

Shannon Sharpe also discussed the situation in his podcast, Nightcap, on July 30, 2025. He revealed that he knew about the decision earlier but had hoped that the news would come out a few days later.

Sharpe's ESPN exit was also discussed on The Breakfast Club podcast on July 31, 2025, where Charlamagne tha God shared his opinion. He said that Shannon Sharpe was "in this situation because of Shannon Sharpe," noting that it was also "poor choices and a lack of discipline."

"And that's why when you see things like this, man, you don't laugh. You just got to learn from it, cuz, and what you should learn is when you have something to lose, you got to act like it. And you know, he wasn't acting like it," the host stated.

Loren LoRosa also chimed in, saying she was not surprised by the decision and said that Disney must have been planning it for some time. She noted that she believed Disney had been "having conversations behind the scenes for some time."

"I just thought Disney would do it sooner or you know, they were going to do that... I don't think Disney just like woke up one day and was like, "Hey, this is what's happening." They've been having conversations behind the scenes for some time," LoRosa said.

Elsewhere in the podcast, Charlamagne tha God seemingly blamed Shannon for his exit from the sports channel. He said that the exit wasn't "ESPN's fault," and neither was it "the white man's fault," noting that it was "Shannon Sharpe's fault."

"Like they can't shake you down if you don't give them anything to shake... This lack of D-discipline can cost you everything. Okay. We call that DD cuz I can't say the word," he added.

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What did Shannon Sharpe say about his exit from ESPN?

Shannon Sharpe spoke about his exit from ESPN on Nightcap on July 30, 2025. He uploaded a video hours after the sports network's decision became public. The Pro Football Hall of Famer said that he was aware of the situation with the network. He said that he wanted the news to come out on Monday, as his brother is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"I found out this information a little earlier in the week, and really the only thing that I really asked is like, "Guys, could we uh wait until Monday?" Um, my brother's going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I really wanted to be about him... I said this coming out would overshadow everything that he's worked his entire life for," Sharpe said.

Sharpe, who also hosts the Club Shay Shay Podcast, shared on the same that he had apologized to his brother. He noted that his brother responded by supporting him and asking him to move on.

Sharpe then went on to thank ESPN, stating that he "really enjoyed" his time on the channel. He added that the channel gave him an opportunity to bring his audience who "saw me really just grow."

"They saw me say all these funny analogies that my grandparents gave me and I was able to bring that to ESPN... they did what they felt they needed to do. And I'm I'm I'm at peace with that," Sharpe said.

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A woman, only known as Jane Doe, who was previously in a relationship with Shannon Sharpe, filed rape charges against him in April. The lawsuit was recently settled, and Jane Doe's lawyer, Tony Buzbee, shared the information about the settlement through a tweet on July 18, 2025.