Charles Barkley infamously told us that he was not a role model. Now Shannon Sharpe has said the same about being a journalist.
“I’m an entertainer. I never said I was a journalist. I never professed to be a journalist. I’m an entertainer,” said Sharpe. “If you want hard-hitting questions, 60 Minutes is the platform for you. Dateline, 48 Hours. Go to Lester Holt. Go to somebody that does that.”
Sharpe is a 7x Pro Bowler, 4x first-team All-Pro, 3x Super Bowl winner and one of the greatest tight ends to ever play the game.
But he’s never been a journalist, and that’s what makes him so successful.
Sharpe retired from the game in 2003 and became a commentator and media personality for CBS Sports’ “The NFL Today” a year later.
After being released by the network in 2014, he landed at Fox Sports two years later and became the co-host of “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed” for seven years. Since leaving the show, he’s become a part-time commentator/host on ESPN’s “First Take” and, even more impressively, has expanded his media presence through his “Club Shay Shay” and “Nightcap” podcasts.
Throughout his media ascent, Sharpe never attempted to become a journalist to assimilate. He remained Shannon Sharpe.
And it works.
Not everyone with a platform is a journalist, nor do we need them to be.
In the era of clickbait and content farms, journalism has suffered. The need for minimalized word counts, cheap AI-generated content and pages deluged with ads is a cycle that has eroded quality journalism, newsrooms and media companies across the globe. This is why shows like “Sports Reporters” and “Real Sports”, despite having loyal fanbases, ended after runs of 27 and 29 years, respectively.
In its place, athlete and celebrity-driven podcasts have emerged as a new source of information and entertainment. From New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, The Pat McAfee Show and The Pivot to All The Smoke, Podcast P with Paul George and the new hit show IT IS WHAT IT IS with Cam’ron and Mase, sports fans have great alternatives to traditional sports programming.
And that’s why Shannon Sharpe is so needed right now.
Sometimes sports fans don’t need journalists to analyze plays, break down sequences or drone on and on about one subject because it’s trending i.e. Undisputed and the Dallas Cowboys earlier this season. They have their place but they don’t need to be the sole form of sports information.
Club Shay Shay, which is approaching 2 million YouTube subscribers, has become a destination for a different type of conversation, one that’s devoid of the hostility, explosiveness and loud banter of traditional sports talk.
It’s a “safe place for the truth to be told”, as Katt Williams recently described it, where guests can air things out without judgment, contradiction, irrational takes and responses, or commercial breaks which often disrupt the flow and energy.
And, most impressively, it succeeds without an egotistical host who craves to be the dominant face and voice in the discussion.
Sharpe’s personality and demeanor enable conversations to blossom naturally. The discussions aren’t forced or coerced through topics dictated by social media algorithms and Sharpe is not an interviewer who asks probing questions to elicit viral responses.
Instead, Sharpe’s self-titled “conversationalist” talents allow guests to lead.
The formula works as Sharpe has had over 100 guests, the majority of them A-list talent.
This past Wednesday, Sharpe spoke with comedian Katt Williams. In the aftermath of Katt taking a bazooka to numerous entertainers, people haven’t stopped discussing it. That conversation in the show’s most-watched episode in its young history, currently registering 17 million views and climbing.
Regardless of whether or not you believe Katt, Sharpe gave us all something we weren’t expecting, can’t stop watching and won’t stop discussing.
Shannon Sharpe knows his lane and is successfully navigating it. He has become a media star in a sea where traditional journalism no longer dominates. And while the latter is still needed, it’s not always mandatory to consume.
So appreciate the hard work he’s put in to become the great conversationalist and entertainer he is, applaud his success, and simply enjoy what he’s doing.
