AceShowbiz - Shannon Sharpe, who has been very vocal about his admiration to Nicole Murphy, has spoken out after photos of the model locking lips with Antoine Fuqua hit the web. Unlike many people who didn't believe her denial in the slightest bit, the sports analyst believed what she said and even came to her defense.

In response to people who said that he might have been heart broken after seeing the pictures, he said on Twitter, "They're just friends," something that Nicole stressed on her statement. He went on defending the former wife of Eddie Murphy, "That's still my girl and I love her."

His followers, however, were disappointed in him for still supporting Nicole. "You can do better Shannon, woman like Nicole like a man who has money like her ex husband Eddie Murphy, you see the engagement to that ex Football player turned TV personality didn't last long. I wonder why??" one pointed out, while another reminded him that Nicole was seen "kissing a whole married man... I say." Someone else told him, "You're too good for her UNK!!"

Nicole and Antoine were spotted locking lips as the sipped coffee on a patio at the Regina Isabella Hotel in Ischia, Italy over the weekend. The two were later photographed kissing again while sitting on poolside sunbeds. The pictures caused controversy as Antoine is married to Lela Rochon, who fueled the affair speculation by deactivating both her Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Many people criticized Nicole for stealing another woman's husband, but Nicole later debunked the accusation by stressing that they are just friends. "Antoine and I are just family friends. I ran into him in Italy and we exchanged a friendly hello and that was it," she said in a statement. But looking at the pictures on the Internet, many people didn't believe it and proceeded to blast her even more.