NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe has vehemently and categorically denied the accusations contained in a $50 million lawsuit by a woman who claimed he raped her on multiple occasions.
The woman, who has been identified as Jane Doe, filed the sexual assault and rape accusations in a Clark County court in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 20, according to the documents obtained by TMZ.
The attorney representing Jane Doe is the famed Tony Buzbee, who has also filed sexual assault lawsuits against Diddy and Jay-Z, though the case against the latter has since been dismissed.
Buzbee told the media that Sharpe is guilty of at least two instances of gross sexual imposition and abuse of Jane Doe at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025.
Tony Buzbee lists the accusations against Shannon Sharpe
“Late last night, The Buzbee Law Firm filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of a brave young woman who alleges she was brutally sexually assaulted by former NFL player Shannon Sharpe on multiple occasions, the last incident occurring in January 2025,” the attorney wrote to his 100K Instagram followers on Monday, April 21. “The lawsuit filed under the pseudonym ‘Jane Doe’ lays out a pattern of intimidation, manipulation and abuse, including allegations that Sharpe repeatedly threatened to choke and slap Jane Doe. The case seeks $50 million in damages.”
‘Jane Doe’ explains how she met Shannon Sharpe
The plaintiff said she met Sharpe at a Los Angeles gym in 2023. Not long thereafter, the two engaged in multiple instances of “consensual sex” until the fall of 2024. She said the relationship changed in September of last year when Sharpe inadvertently livestreamed himself having sex with another woman, which humiliated her. She said she began to pull away, and that’s when Sharpe began getting aggressive to keep her.
Jane Doe describes one instance in October 2024 when Sharpe allegedly forced her into his car and took her to her apartment. While there, she claims he made her give him oral sex and then raped her anally. In another instance in January 2025, he said he wanted to go to her place to give her a Christmas and birthday gift, but she said he also forced himself on her.
Those two instances constitute rape, Buzbee claimed in the documents also acquired by People magazine.
“A woman can say ‘yes’ to consensual sexual relations with a man ninety-nine times, but when she says ‘no’ even once, that ‘no’ means no,” Buzbee wrote in the complaint. “Defendant Shannon Sharpe, a man who is accustomed to getting what he wants, completely fails to understand this basic concept.”
In the documents filed in court, Buzbee elaborated on the lawsuit.
“He demanded complete control over her time and body,” the plaintiff’s attorney Tony Buzbee claimed in the suit. “[He expected] her to be at his house on his schedule, at his command, whenever he called.”
Shannon Sharpe resolutely maintains his innocence
Sharpe, who is a guest host on ESPN’s “First Take” and the creator of his wildly popular podcast “Club Shay Shay,” adamantly denies the allegations through his attorney, Lanny J. Davis. His lawyer contends the alleged victim’s suit “is a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars.”
Davis adds, “It is filled with lies, distortions and misrepresentations – and it will not succeed.”
To counter the woman’s claims, Sharpe authorized his attorney to release multiple text messages containing graphic sexual requests allegedly made by the woman.
Davis accused the complainant of supplying the court “secretly recorded video of a consensual encounter” that the victim and Buzbee “heavily edited and taken entirely out of context.” Sharpe added that the alleged victim “has refused to provide a copy of the full, unedited version of the recording.”
