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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
NFL Hall of Famer and ESPN host Shannon Sharpe has apologized after he mistakenly live-streamed a sex act on his Instagram account.
Sharpe – who won three Super Bowls during his 14-year career – went live on Instagram on Wednesday (September 11) with a minute-and-a-half long video that featured audio of a woman apparently moaning in pleasure. The video did not depict the intimate act.
The ex-football player discussed the incident on an emergency episode of his Nightcap show on YouTube, which he hosts alongside fellow NFL star Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson.
Sharpe initially claimed his Instagram account had been hacked in a post on X before deleting the post and admitting that the event occurred because of his lack of technological knowledge.
“I threw my phone on the bed, engaged in an activity,” Sharpe said. “I did not know IG live. I’ve never turned IG live on so I don’t know how it works and all of sudden my other phone started going off.”
“My heart sank,” Sharpe said when his marketing representative called him to inform him what had happened. “I called my agent, I called the agency, I called ESPN and I [thought] just tell them the truth. My phone wasn’t hacked, it wasn’t a prank, it was me being a healthy, active male.”
Sharpe said he was “very disappointed in myself” and that he had “let a lot of people down.” He added: “Obviousy, I’m embarrassed. [I’m] someone that is extremely, extremely private and to have one of your most intimate details be audio heard for the entire world to hear, I’m embarrassed.”
Sharpe has roughly 3.2 million followers on Instagram. After the clip went viral on social media, Sharpe reposted several tweets poking fun at the ordeal, including one from former ESPN host Michelle Beadle, who wrote: “It was not me.”
Meanwhile, an adult entertainment company told TMZ Sports they would love to offer him $100,000 “if he’s looking to make a career change.”
Sharpe joined ESPN’s morning debate show First Take, featuring Stephen A Smith and host Molly Qerim, in August of last year. He recently signed a multi-year contract with the sports broadcaster in June, Deadline reports.
A representative for ESPN did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment.
