Former NFL star Shannon Sharpe said Thursday he is stepping away temporarily from his ESPN duties while he deals with what he called false allegations in a $50 million civil lawsuit filed against him by a woman who alleges he raped and threatened her.

Sharpe said in a statement that he would return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason. The first preseason game is set for July 31.

Attorneys filed the lawsuit Sunday in Clark County, Nevada, for a woman listed in court documents as Jane Doe. The lawsuit also accuses Sharpe of using physical force on her and inflicting emotional distress.

The woman first met Sharpe at a gym in Los Angeles in 2023 when she was 20 and a nearly two-year relationship followed, according to court documents. Sharpe, 56, is accused of raping the woman in October 2024 and again in January, the documents said.

On Monday, Sharpe had posted a statement from his lawyer on X saying the relationship was consensual and calling the lawsuit a “blatant and cynical attempt to shake down” Sharpe for millions of dollars.

Sharpe was a four-time All-Pro tight end who played on two Super Bowl-winning teams with Denver and one with Baltimore over 14 seasons from 1990 to 2003. He was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

College basketball

Macalester’s Woldeslassie leaves to coach Denver

Macalester head basketball coach Abe Woldeslassie is resigning after seven seasons spent leading his alma mater, the school announced Thursday.

Woldeslassie is taking an assistant coaching job at the University of Denver.

He leaves Macalester in a much better spot than he found it. When he took over the program, the Scots had won 35 games total over the previous 10 seasons.

Woldeslassie turned the Scots into a legitimate contender in the MIAC, leading the team to the conference tournament title game in 2022. The Scots won 15 games the following year, marking the first time in 40 years they’d posted winning records in consecutive campaigns.

“While we are saddened to see him go,” Macalester athletic director Donnie Brooks said in a release, “we’re incredibly proud of what he’s accomplished here and excited to see what lies ahead for him.”

Woldeslassie, who has previous experience as a Division I assistant coach, joins the bench of new Denver coach Tim Bergstraser, a St. Cloud commit who took the job at Denver after four seasons as the head coach at Minnesota State-Moorhead.

— Jace Frederick

USC recruit Arenas injured in LA car crash

Alijah Arenas, a Los Angeles high school basketball star who’s committed to playing for the University of Southern California next season, was in an accident early Thursday, the university said.

The Los Angeles Police Department said officers responded shortly before 5 a.m. to single-vehicle collision in the Reseda area of the San Fernando Valley. The LA Fire Department further said the vehicle was a Tesla Cybertruck that crashed into a tree.

An 18-year-old man was transported to the hospital in stable condition, police said. The police department did not identify the driver.

Multiple news outlets including the Los Angeles Times and ESPN said Arenas was the driver, citing unnamed sources.

USC men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman said in a statement on X: “Our thoughts and prayers are with Alijah and his family following this morning’s accident. Please keep him, his teammates and friends, and the entire Arenas family in your prayers.”

Arenas is a son of former NBA player Gilbert Arenas. He attends Chatsworth High School in Los Angeles.

GOLF

McIlory, Lowry 6 back in Zurich Classic defense

Rory McIlroy, playing for the first time since winning the Masters, teamed with Shane Lowry to shoot an 8-under 64 in better-play Thursday in the Zurich Classic, leaving the Irish defending champions six shots behind leaders Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Vetlo.

PGA Tour rookies Salinda and Velo opened with a tournament-record 58 in the tour’s only team event. Danish identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Holgaard were a shot back. The teams will play alternate shot Friday, better ball Saturday and alternate shot Sunday.

Ryu, Liu share Chevron Championship lead

Haeran Ryu and Yan Liu each shot bogey-free 7-under 65 to share the lead during the suspended first round of the Chevron Championship as top-ranked Nelly Korda struggled to a 77 on Thursday in her title defense.

The round was suspended late as a storm approached The Club at Carlton Woods, with 24 players unable to finish.

Korda won the event last year for the last of her five straight LPGA Tour victories and had hoped to rediscover that dominant form in the season’s first major. Instead, she made bogeys on four straight holes and was 4-over par after six holes.

Briefly

Minor league baseball >> The St. Paul Saints were postponed for the sixth time this season on Wednesday due to rain in Minnesota. There have been 24 possible games this season.

baseball>> The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is fundraising for a new 30,000-square-foot facility and campus. Former Philadelphia Phillies star Ryan Howard and San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt announced their plans Thursday to join the Negro Leagues’ “Pitch for the Future.”

NBA >> Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley held off fellow finalists Dyson Daniels of Atlanta and Draymond Green of Golden State to win the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

NFL >> Longtime Seattle Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett announced on social media late Wednesday that he is joining the Tennessee Titans.

College football >> The NCAA Division II football playoffs will expand from 28 to 32 teams beginning this season to accommodate the format change that will award 16 conferences automatic bids.

— From news services