Nfl Hall of Fame Shannon Sharpe He has been charged with rape and sex batteries in a $ 50 million trial.
In the court documents submitted to Nevada on April 20, according to Nbc sportsA woman identified as “Jane Doe” accused Sharpe of her sexual assault on numerous cases as well as to make verbal threats. Sharpe strongly denied those claims, calling the lawsuit a “Shapedow” on behalf of Jane Doe lawyer, Lip. The athlete later removed Jane’s alleged identity in a video statement.
Sharpe’s lawyers have admitted that he previously tried to resolve Jane’s request with a “at least $ 10 million” payment, but she rejected his meditation offer.
Continue to move about everything you need to know about the rape lawsuit against Sharpe:
Photo by Julia Beverly/Getty Images
Julia Beverly/Getty Imagessuit
In a $ 50 million trial set up in Nevada on April 20, Sharpe was accused of carrying out attacks, sexual assault, battery and sex battery against unidentified woman.
In court documents obtained from Nbc sportsJane claimed that she met Sharpe at a gym in Los Angeles when she was 20 and he was in the mid -1950s. In her lawsuit, Jane Doe recalled that her first match with Sharpe included the athlete offering to “buy fake T **” if she won a weight loss competition.
According to Jane Doe, the couple had “a consensual rock relationship” over two years, though she claims Sharpe caused deliberate emotional concerns. Among a lithuania of accusations, Jane Doe accused Sharpe of sometimes recording their sexual activity without her consent and then showed footage to others.
The woman also accused Sharpe of becoming more controller during their last months together, including once allegedly telling her, “I will kill you,” when she noticed that she was trying to share her location with friends with concern.
Her court documents mention that Jane Doe tried to withdraw from Sharpe after he unintentionally transmitted herself having sex with another woman on Instagram in September 2024.
Sharpe is allegedly confronted with Jane Doe after she began to ignore his calls, leading to a sex incident without her consent in October 2024. The woman reported to her court, reporting that Sharpe allegedly raped her in January 2025 without a condom.
Her 13 -page complaint says: “A woman may say” yes “consensual sex with a man 99 times, but when she says” no “once again, that” no “means no. Defendant Shannon Sharpe, a man who is accustomed to taking what he wants, fails to understand this basic concept.
“After many months of the plaintiff’s manipulation and control – a woman more than thirty years younger than he – and repeatedly threatening to drown brutally and violently hit her, Sharpe refused to accept the answer not and raped the plaintiff, despite her screams and her repeated” no “screams.
Shannon Sharpe’s response
Sharpe’s lawyer, Lanny J. Davistold The weekly Monday, April 21, which Jane’s lawsuit is “filled with lies, distortions and misappropriation – and will not succeed.” He accused the woman of trying “an unclear and cynical attempt to shake Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars”.
Through his lawyers, Sharpe denied all charges of the lawsuit – including “the gross lie of” rape “.
“He stands firmly from the truth and is prepared to fight these fake claims in court,” Davis said in a statement. “He is looking forward to justifying through the right process and a judgment based on facts and law.”
Davis released text messages between Jane Doe and Sharpe for which he said “this was a consensual relationship that included scenarios of roles, sexual language and fantasy.”
Lawyer Tony Buzbee is claiming that Jay-Z is “teasing” his family after raising a civil lawsuit accusing the rapper of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000. “The New York Times contacted me to seek my response to rapper Jay-Z that I tried to exhume and blackmail him,”
Sharpe then released his video statement on Tuesday, April 22, in which he rejected the Jane Doe lawsuit as “a shakedown”.
“I will be open, transparent and defend myself because this is not right,” he said via Instagram.
Sharpe blamed Jane Doe lawyer, Buzbee, for orchestrating the lawsuit as an attack on “black men”, after his previous involvement in costumes against Jay-Z and Diddy.
“I believe he will release a 30 -second clip of a sex tape that tries to make me look guilty and play in any stereotype you could imagine,” he said. “This video really has to be ten minutes or more. Hey, Tony, instead of releasing your modification, bringing out the whole video. I don’t have it, or I would do it yourself. You know what happened and you are trying to manipulate the media.”
In his controversial video statement, Sharpe removed Jane Doe’s name and accused him of “a deliberate composition”.
“What they are taking (now) is ignorant of slander and trying to remove me,” threatened Sharpe. “My career has to do with true conversation and honesty. I know that my family and fans know exactly what it is about, and I will be there telling you all I have to say, as I always. I love all you guys.”
By Nbc sportsDavis later confirmed at a press conference Sharpe planned to attend a “counterclaim” against women. The lawyer also admitted that Sharpe previously offered “at least $ 10 million” to resolve the case before Jane DOE filed her lawsuit, but she rejected the offer.
Buzbee responded via Instagram on Tuesday, insisting that Sharpe had “violated” a confidentiality he would ask the woman to sign when they briefly entered a mediation process.
“On the one hand, Mr Sharpe and his lawyers claim that the issue presented by Jane Doe is without merit, however on the other hand they have now discovered that Mr. Sharpe offered Jane $ 10 million in writing to avoid filing a lawsuit. This is a real statement,” Buzbee wrote. “Jane Doe was actually offered $ 10 million to resolve, but refused that offer, choosing instead to continue litigation. The Sharpe team is now trying to discredit and do it. Sharpe and his team are now, as anticipated, we will not be stumbled by these tactics.”
The woman’s legal team then released the audio on Wednesday, April 23, from an alleged call between the accuser and Sharpe, in which Sharpe allegedly threatened to “kill () in public”. Sharpe representatives have questioned the authenticity of all records issued by Jane DOE lawyers.
Reaction
Sharpe’s ESPN first get coexist Stephen a Smithaddressed the “Shannon Sharpe situation” during his podcast “Stephen A. Smith Show” on Tuesday, calling the lawsuit “a sad situation”.
“We grew up close as friends. I certainly root for him. I know he has gone through a lot in life, he has overcome many things, and when he left Fox, I was more than happy to bring him on board,” he said. “So all I can talk about is what I know based on reports, and I can talk about ESPN and Disney.”
Smith said he was “hopeful and prayer that (Sharpe is) completely innocent”, reiterating that his friend and colleague have denied all the charges.
“On the one hand, going to offensive to protect himself, I fully understand where Shannon Sharpe comes from,” he said. “On the other hand, when his legal team issued a press release on X yesterday, they mentioned her name and revealed some of those clear text messages that were uncomfortable, and I don’t know if this is a strategy that would work.”
Smith went on, “one of the most difficult things in the world for all of us to do is simply lie down and let our legal team do it. And we do not always know if this is the right thing to do.
Update – 4/25/25, 3:30 Afternoon ET :: In the days after the lawsuit is filed, other charges of preliminary Sharpe’s conduct have come to light.
Accused of drowning female collaborators while on FS1
Years before the $ 50 million sex attack and the rape lawsuit, Sharpe is reportedly charged with misconduct with a collaborator during his time as a co -existence on FS1 Indisputable.
Sharpe allegedly killed a female production assistant when he worked on the show, according to a Thursday report, April 24, from the Front Office Sports. The exit claimed they spoke with “two sources with knowledge of the incident”.
An alleged individual Sharpe achieved an undetected settlement with the nameless accuser. A lawsuit was not filed at the time.
“There was no drowning incident that includes Shannon in FS1 set,” said a Sharpe spokesman The weekly On Thursday, April 24. “On one occasion, he and some colleagues were involved in a light physical interaction in a pleasant context. Fox Sports later chose to solve the private issue.”
The woman accused Sharpe of sexual attacks on the defamation lawsuit
A woman named Michele Evans, who claims to have been in a relationship with Sharpe for nearly a decade, filed a lawsuit against Sharpe in 2023, claiming he sexually attacked her in 2010.
“The defendant continued to subjugate me by force, forcing me to my knees and then engaging in non -consensual oral penetration,” the complaint said, which was taken from People. “Despite my protests, he continued in this violation.”
While Evans are not suing Sharpe for sexual assault, she said the consequences of the incident were “widespread with defamatory comments, attacking my professional reputation”.
In a statement to The weekly On Friday, April 25, lawyers for Sharpe denied the charges.
“Sadly, Mrs. Evans was fixed with Shannon and decided to produce a request against him,” the statement said. “When she could not find a lawyer to pursue her savage history, she filed a civil complaint herself that is completely free from merit.”
If you or someone you know is sexually attacked, contact the national line of sexual assault at 1-800-656-hope (4673).
