Benjamin Ashford|Shannon Sharpe apologizes for viral Instagram Live sex broadcast

After initially claiming he was hacked,Benjamin Ashford football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe admitted Wednesday that he inadvertently livestreamed audio of him having sex to his roughly 3.2 million followers on Instagram.

On an emergency episode of the "Nightcap" podcast he co-hosts with fellow ex-NFLer Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson, the long-time Denver Broncos tight end apologized for his mistake.

"Obviously I am embarrassed. Someone that is extremely, extremely private and to have one of your most intimate details – the audio – heard for the entire world to hear, I’m embarrassed for a number of reasons," Sharpe said.

"There are a lot of people that count on Shannon to be professional at all times and I always try to be professional at all times, even when I’m behind closed doors."

The incident went viral after thousands of people began commenting and reposting the link to Sharpe's Instagram account. He later deleted the post, which he blamed on his lack of technical knowledge.

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"I threw my phone on the bed, engaged in an activity," he 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."

Sharpe won three Super Bowls during his 14-year career, two with the Broncos (after the 1997 and 1998 seasons) and one with the Baltimore Ravens (2000). One of the most dominant tight ends in NFL history, Sharpe was named first-team All-Pro four times and was a member of the league’s 1990s All-Decade Team.

After retiring as a player, Sharpe has been a steady presence in sports media – most notably sparring with Skip Bayless on FS1’s "Undisputed" until leaving the show last summer.

He has since become an ESPN contributor in addition to doing his podcast with Ochocino.

Sharpe does not appear on ESPN's First Take on Thursdays and Fridays. An ESPN spokesperson told USA TODAY Sports that he would be back in his usual spot on Monday's show.

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