NFL Star Apologizes For Explicit Livestream
If you’ve been active on social media in the past few days, you’ve likely seen or heard references to the controversial Shannon Sharpe livestream faux pas, which saw the football legend accidentally sharing a sexual encounter with his 3.2 million followers earlier this week. The NFL star turned podcast host has apologized for this debacle, and expressed deep embarrassment at the entire situation.
Sharpe even recorded an emergency episode of his podcast Nightcap, confessing that his initial defense that his account was “hacked” was a lie to save face.
Sharpe’s Incidental Live Stream
For those who don’t know, Shannon Sharpe accidentally began his first-ever Instagram live broadcast the other day after allegedly throwing his phone to the side of his bed. The visual aspect of the live stream offered nothing but an obfuscated screen, though audio could be heard of Sharpe and a mystery woman getting intimate with one another, revealing an incredibly personal moment.
The stream went on for almost 2 full minutes as friends, family members, and media insiders repeatedly called the ESPN personality, desperately trying to bail him out of the embarrassing situation.
Intentional After All?
Eventually, a marketing assistant was able to reach Shannon Sharpe, prompting him to quickly end the stream. Of course, the damage was already done at that point, as millions of people from all over the globe had already taken screen recordings, shared to external social media, and even crafted memes about the incident. Some have even suggested that the video was an intentional stunt designed to curb a bizarre rumor that the Club Shay Shay host is gay.
Doesn’t Even Know How To Use Instagram live
In the days since, Shannon Sharpe has expressed regret about his handling of the livestream, and confusion as to how this happened in the first place. At first, Sharpe claimed to have been hacked, arguing that the grunts and motions heard on camera were not his own. After confessing that he was not hacked on the Nightcap podcast, the former NFL tight end explained that he has never utilized Instagram’s live function, and that he’s not sure how he accidentally launched a stream without intending to do so. He even joked that for all future intimate encounters, he’ll be leaving his cell phone in the car.
Concerns Over Reputation
Shannon Sharpe explained that he’s “embarrassed for a number of reasons,” especially since his public image is connected to the livelihoods of so many employees at ESPN and his podcast networks. The hall of famer went on to state “Even when I’m behind closed doors, I still try to remain a level of professional, although I’m in the privacy of my own home. And I’m very disappointed in myself. Not for the act. There are millions and billions of people of consenting age that engage in activities, but I let a lot of people down.”
Moving On And Making Jokes
Despite Shannon Sharpe’s embarrassment, he and his Nightcap co-host and fellow NFL legend Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson quickly moved on to joking about the incident, with Ocho arguing that his audio performance may make Sharpe more popular with the ladies. At one point in the video podcast, Sharpe even retrieved a handful of contraceptives, explaining that he keeps them on him at all times.
At the end of the day, this incident will go down as a minor blemish on an otherwise spotless media career, since Shannon Sharpe has been covering sports, pop culture, and other elements of entertainment ever since his retirement from the NFL in 2003.
Source: Nightcap
