When it comes to shows like ESPN’s First Take and Fox Sports’ Undisputed, they all hope that the staged debates about the sports news cycle become part of the sports news cycle itself.
On Monday morning, Undisputed got what it wanted, but it could potentially come at a cost.
During the show, Shannon Sharpe appeared to cold call Atlanta Falcons all-world wide receiver Julio Jones and asked Jones about the current trade rumors while on speaker phone. Sharpe didn’t tell Jones that he was both on speaker and live TV, so it was unclear if he even knew what audience he was speaking to.
If this wasn’t a staged or arranged call for TV, Fox Sports may have violated California law on two-party consent.
Q: If this wasn’t staged, is what Shannon Sharpe did to Julio Jones illegal?
Undisputed is filmed in California, which follows the "two-party consent" law. There, it’s a crime to record a private telephone call without the consent of all parties involved. pic.twitter.com/l2vUG6OALA
— Sports Law Lust 🎙 (@SportsLawLust) May 24, 2021
Maybe he knew he was on tv, but it didn't seem like it.
Which, uh … https://t.co/Wa7L7ZgoZr pic.twitter.com/6xyI5JixBo
— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) May 24, 2021
According to California law, “conversations in which one of the parties has an objectively reasonable expectation that no one is listening in or overhearing the conversation” cannot be recorded without the consent of both the parties on the phone.
If Jones thought he was just chatting privately with Sharpe, that’s a problem from a legal standpoint and a terrible look for Sharpe.
Now, if Jones was in on all of this to force the Falcons’ hand, then there’s no problem as both Fox and Jones got what they wanted: People talking about the call.
Sharpe has yet to comment on whether the call was arranged with Jones for TV or not.
https://youtu.be/vJh3IRDNRo4