Shannon Sharpe Rape Allegations: Details of a legal case $ 50m

NFL immortal hall Shannon Sharpe charged with rape and sexual battery in a Bombshell $ 50 million Congress.

In court documents filed in Nevada on April 20, according to NBC sportsHe accused a woman identified as Sharpe’s “Jane Doe” of sexually assaulting her on several occasions as well as making oral threats. Sharpe strongly denied those allegations, calling the legal proceedings to “shake” on behalf of Jane Doe’s attorney, Tony Buzbee. The athlete later exempted Jane Doe’s presumed identity in a video statement.

Sharpe attorneys have acknowledged he tried to settle Jane Doe’s claim before with a payment of “at least $ 10 million,” but refused his proposal of reflection.

Keep scrolling for everything you need to know about the rape legal case against Sharpe:

The legal case

In a $ 50 million legal case filed in Nevada on April 20, Sharpe was accused of committing an attack, sexual assault, battery and sexual battery against the unknown woman.

In the Docs Court obtained by NBC sportsJane Doe allegedly met Sharpe in a gym in Los Angeles at the age of 20 and was in the mid -50s. In her lawsuit, Jane Doe recalled that her first encounter with Sharpe included the athlete offers “buy her fake th ** s” if she won a weight loss competition.

According to Jane Doe, the pair had a “rocky consensual relationship” over two years, although she claimed Sharpe had caused deliberate emotional distress. Among Litani of allegations, Jane Doe Sharpe accused of recording their sexual activity sometimes without her consent and then showing the film to others.

The woman also accused Sharpe of becoming more controlled in their final months together, including once she tells her, “I will kill you,” when she noticed she was trying to share her location with friends out of anxiety.

Her court documents mention that Jane Doe tried to claim he removed from Sharpe after he had inadvertently living himself having sex With another woman on Instagram in September 2024.

Sharpe allegedly faced Jane Doe after she began to ignore her calls, leading to an incident of forceful sex without her consent in October 2024. The woman in court reported filing that Sharpe was allegedly raped again in January 2025 without wearing a condom.

Her 13 -page complaint states: “A woman can say ‘yes’ to consensual sexual contacts with a man 99 times, but when she says ‘no’ once, ‘no’ means no. Defendant Shannon Sharpe, a man who is familiar with getting what he wants, fails to fully understand this basic concept.

“After many months of treating and managing plaintiff – a woman more than thirty years younger than him – and repeatedly threatened to choke cruelly and slap it violently, Sharpe refused to receive the no solution and plaintiff rape, despite her sobering and repeated screams of no. ‘

Shannon Sharpe’s response

Sharpe attorney, Lanny J. Davistell Weekly US On Monday, April 21, Jane Doe’s legal proceedings are “filled with lies, distortions and misrepresentations – and will not succeed.” He accused the woman of trying to “a prominent and cynical attempt to shake Mr Sharpe down for millions of dollars.”

Through his attorneys, Sharpe denied all of the accusations of the legal case – including “gross lie ‘rape.”

“He stands firmly and is ready to fight these false allegations vigorously in court,” Davis said in a statement. “He looks forward to justifying through an appropriate process and judgment based on the facts and law.”

Davis released text messages between Jane Doe and Sharpe who said he proved “This was a consensual relationship that included role -playing, sexual language and fantasy scenarios.”

Subsequently, Sharpe released his own video statement on Tuesday, April 22, where Jane Doe’s legal case refused as “shaking.”

“I’m going to be open, transparent and defend myself because this isn’t right,” he said through Instagram.

Sharpe blamed Jane Doe’s lawyer, Buzbee, for arranging the legal proceedings as an attack on “black men,” after his previous participation suits against Jay-Z and Diddy.

“I think it’s going to release a 30 -second clip of sex tape that tries to make me look guilty and play into every stereotype you could possibly imagine,” he said. “That video should actually be ten minutes. Hey, Tony, instead of releasing your editing, put the whole video out. I don’t have, or I’d myself. You know what happened and you’re trying to handle the media.”

In his controversial video statement, Sharpe excluded Jane Doe’s name and accused her of “deliberate setup.”

“What they get (now) is suddenly defamated and tried to pull me down,” threatened Sharpe. “All my career is about talking to real honesty. I know my family and supporters know exactly what this is, and I’m going to be out there whatever I need to say, just as I always do. I love all of you.”

Back NBC sportsDavis later confirmed at a news conference that Sharpe intends to follow “anti -analogy” against the woman. The attorney too recognized Sharpe previously proposed “at least $ 10 million” to settle the issue before Jane Doe filed his suit, but refused the offer.

Buzbee responded through Instagram On Tuesday by insisting that Sharpe “broke” a confidentiality agreement he had asked the woman to sign when they entered a mediation process briefly.

“On the one hand Mr Sharpe and his lawyers claim that the case filed by Jane Doe is deserving, but on the other hand they have now revealed that Mr Sharpe has offered Jane Doe $ 10 million in writing not to file her lawsuit. That is a real statement,” Buzbee wrote through Instagram. “Actually Jane Doe had offered $ 10 million to settle but rejected that offer, choosing rather proceeding with litigation. The Sharpe team is now trying to defraud and dox. Sharpe and his team now, as anticipated, also attack me. We are not going to be blocked by these tactics.”

The woman’s legal team Sound released after On Wednesday, April 23, from an alleged phone call between the accuser and Sharpe, where Sharpe is alleged to have threatened to “choke (she) in public.” Sharpe representatives have questioned the authenticity of all recordings released by Jane Doe’s lawyers.

Reaction

Sharpe’s ESPN first Cohost, Stephen and Smithtackled “Shannon Sharpe’s position” during his “Stephen A. Smith Show” Podcast on Tuesday, calling the legal proceedings a “sad situation.”

“We’ve grown close as friends. I definitely rooted for him. I know he has been through many in life, he has overcome many things, and when he left from Fox, I was more than happy to bring him aboard this ship,” he said. “So all I can talk to is what I know based on the reports, and I can talk about ESPN and Disney.”

Smith said he was “hopeful and prayerful that (Sharpe) was completely innocent,” repeating that his friend and colleague had denied all allegations.

“On the one hand, while going on the offensive to defend himself, I fully understand where Shannon Sharpe is coming from,” he said. “On the other hand, when his legal team issued the press release on X yesterday, they mentioned her name and revealed some of those specific text messages that were uncomfortable, and I don’t know if that is a strategy that would work.”

Smith went on, “One of the hardest things in the world for all of us to do is lie low and be quiet and let our legal team do. And we don’t always know if that’s the right thing to do. I know, and I can tell you everything I spoke to Shannon, not in details, but I spoke to him, and he talked to him, and he is complimentary by composing him.

Update – 4/25/25, 3:30 pm et :: In the days after the legal proceedings were filed, other allegations about Sharpe’s previous behavior have emerged.

Charged with choking female coworker during time in FS1

Years before the legal case of sexual assault and rape $ 50 million, Sharpe was allegedly accused of misconduct with a coworker During his time as Cohost on FS1’s Undisputed.

Sharpe allegedly choked a female production assistant when he worked on the show, according to a report on Thursday, April 24, by Front Office Sports. The outlet claimed they were talking to “two sources with information about the incident.”

One alleged individual of Sharpe reached an unveiled settlement with the anonymous accuser. Legal proceedings were not filed at the time.

“There was no incident of choking relating to Shannon on Set FS1,” said a Sharpe spokesman Weekly US On Thursday, April 24.

The woman accused Sharpe of sexual assault in a defamation legal case

A woman named Michele Evans, who claims she had been in a relationship with Sharpe for nearly a decade, filed a legal case against Sharpe in 2023, claiming to have sexually assaulted her in 2010.

“The defendant went on to subdue me forcibly, forcing me to my knees and subsequently engaged in an unscientific oral penetration,” read the complaint, which was obtained by People. “Despite my protests, he continued in this offense.”

Although Evans does not sue Sharpe for a sexual assault, he said the result of the incident was “rampant with defamatory commentary, attacking my professional reputation.”

In a statement to Weekly US On Friday, April 25, Sharpe attorneys denied the allegations.

“Unfortunately, Ms. Evans became obsessed with Shannon and decided to produce a claim against him,” read the statement. “When he couldn’t find a lawyer to follow his disgraceful story, she filed a civil complaint on her own who is completely devoid of merit.”

If you or someone you know have sexually assaulted you, please contact the National Sexual Assault Wire at 1-800-656-Hope (4673).