A Nevada woman is suing Hall of Fame tight end and media personality Shannon Sharpe for more than $50 million, alleging he raped and threatened her during a two-year relationship.
The lawsuit, filed Sunday in a Las Vegas District Court by attorney Tony Buzbee, seeks damages for “pain and suffering, psychological and emotional distress, mental anguish, embarrassment, and humiliation.”
Sharpe, 56, denied the allegations Tuesday in a video statement on X, calling the lawsuit a “shakedown” and pledging to defend himself.
The woman, identified in the complaint as Jane Doe, alleges Sharpe first approached her while she was working out at a Los Angeles gym in January 2023. She did not know who Sharpe was at the time, but the lawsuit said the pair soon began a “consensual” but “deeply manipulative” relationship.
Over the next two years, the suit said, Sharpe became increasingly controlling and physically abusive, choking and hitting Doe on multiple occasions. Sharpe allegedly threatened to kill Doe numerous times for resisting his sexual advances and accusing him of infidelity.
According to the lawsuit, Sharpe raped Doe twice in October 2024 and again in January 2025. It also accuses Sharpe of repeatedly recording the two having sex without Doe’s knowledge or consent.
Buzbee released a brief audio clip to several media outlets Tuesday in which Sharpe allegedly said he will choke Doe if she accuses him of manipulating her. In a conference call later that day, Sharpe’s attorney Lanny Davis said the audio was “edited in a warped and distorted way.”
Davis said Sharpe offered Doe at least $10 million to settle the case before she filed the lawsuit, but she declined.
Sharpe, a three-time Super Bowl champion who retired in 2003, appears on ESPN’s “First Take” every Monday and Tuesday, including this Tuesday’s show. He also hosts the podcast “Club Shay Shay” and operates a wider podcast network he said is worth tens of millions of dollars.
Doe’s lawsuit also refers to a separate suit Sharpe faces in New York. In that 2023 case, Michele Evans, who said she was in a relationship with Sharpe for roughly a decade, accused him of intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation, among other things. The suit includes allegations that Sharpe sexually assaulted Evans during an argument in 2010.
Buzbee has been involved in other high-profile sexual misconduct lawsuits over the last several years.
In 2021, he represented more than 20 women who accused quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual assault. Watson settled most of the lawsuits, though the terms are confidential.
Buzbee also filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2024, but he later left that case because he is not licensed to practice in New York, where he submitted the suit. That case was dismissed in February after the victim withdrew the complaint.
Sharpe pointed to Buzbee’s previous cases as evidence that the Houston attorney targets Black men and relies on stereotypes to draw media attention.
“I’m going to be open, transparent and defend myself because this isn’t right,” Sharpe said. “This is all being orchestrated by Tony Buzbee.”
Buzbee’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Photo: Paras Griffin / Getty Images)
