Stephen A. Smith (Photo via YouTube)
Stephen A Smith couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room any longer as he finally broke his silence on Shannon Sharpe.

Sharpe has found himself in a highly-publicized civil battle after he was accused of s3xual assault this week.

The football Hall of Famer turned national television star was shockingly accused of assault, s3xual assault, battery, and s3xual battery. He was also accused of engaging “in the intentional infliction of emotional distress,” with his accuser seeking $50 million in damages.

Smith spent nearly 20 minutes discussing the topic on his self-titled podcast, which was released Tuesday. He called it a “sad situation.”

“Shannon Sharpe is somebody I work with a couple of days a week. Shannon Sharpe is somebody I brought to ESPN. We’ve grown close as friends. I certainly root for him,” he said.

Smith shared his thoughts on the media personality’s decision to disclose the texts: “They revealed some of those explicit text messages. That was uncomfortable,” Smith said.

“I don’t know if that’s a strategy that would work.”

He added: “One of the hardest things in the world for all of us to do is to just lay low and be quiet and let our legal team do it.”

Further in the episode, Smith stated that Sharpe spoke about his innocence to him during a conversation between the two media personalities.

“I can tell you all that I spoke to Shanon, and he emphatically proclaims his innocence,” explained Smith.

In the meantime, Shannon Sharpe has denied all allegations, calling the case a “shakedown.”

Shannon Sharpe Was Told, “No Means No”

Shannon Sharpe (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for The Volume)
The woman alleging that Shannon Sharpe r@ped her confronted him in a text exchange earlier this year that might prove everything she is saying.

The woman texted Sharpe in January that “no means no” and that she didn’t know “how to process” the situation.

“But I cried when u left because I begged you to put a condom on and not put it in my ass, and u didn’t listen,” the woman said.

“I don’t care what our history is, no means no shannon.”

Shannon Sharpe followed it up with, “Call you later?”

Sharpe is facing a $50 million lawsuit.