Days after Shannon Sharpe announced his exit from ESPN's First Take, DJ Akademiks addressed the matter in a livestream rant. In a video clip uploaded by a Joe Budden fan page on X on Saturday, August 2, Akademiks claimed that the sports commentator should've known that he wasn't getting back on ESPN, saying:"You should have realized from the get-go, ESPN was done with you. They strung you on. They don't want your a** back."Further in the video, DJ Akademiks appeared frustrated that Sharpe lost his ESPN gig despite settling the s*xual assault lawsuit, saying:"You on 'Nightcap,' on 'Shay Shay' podcast from now on, your audience is gonna rock with you, they gonna love you. You just wasted $20 million for no reason. You just gave the chick the bread. You should have given the chick the bread when you had both papers on the table. For you to sign with ESPN and for you to settle with her."DJ Akademiks went on to claim that ESPN played Sharpe, adding that the former athlete's platform was already bigger than Joe Budden's and Akademiks' own. Therefore, he shouldn't have to placate organizations like ESPN, which would cut him off at any point.According to the BBC, Sharpe was dropped by ESPN in the wake of the assault allegations against him. Earlier this week, on July 31, the NFL star shared the news with his fans on his Nightcap podcast, saying:"I'm sure everybody's heard the news by now that I will not be returning to ESPN. I found out this information a little earlier in the week."Sharpe wanted to keep the matter private until his brother, Sterling Sharpe, received his Hall of Fame induction. However, as the news was out despite his efforts, Shannon also apologized to his brother on the episode, adding:"I really want it to be about him and I want it to be about my family... This coming out will overshadow everything he's worked his entire life for."Tony Buzbee tweeted about Shannon Sharpe settling his lawsuit earlier this monthShannon Sharpe's exit from CNN comes a couple of weeks after the news of the podcaster settling the r*pe lawsuit filed against him surfaced on social media.On July 18, Tony Buzbee wrote about the settlement on X, adding that the "consensual and tumultuous relationship" between Shannon Sharpe and Jane Doe was acknowledged by both parties. Buzbee, who represented Doe in the lawsuit, continued:"After protracted and respectful negotiations, I’m pleased to announce that we have reached a mutually agreed upon resolution. All matters have now been addressed satisfactorily, and the matter is closed. The lawsuit will thus be dismissed with prejudice."However, the amount that DJ Akademiks quoted in his livestream, $20 million, was not confirmed by either party.First Take is a sports talk program that has been running on ESPN since 2007. Shannon Sharpe joined the talk show in 2023 and had worked as an analyst on it for two years before his dismissal.