A second woman has come forward and claims that NFL legend Shannon Sharpe [raped] and abused her back in 2010.
This woman, named Michele Bundy Evans, actually filed her lawsuit first — she quietly went to a New York court in 2023 to seek redress for her alleged victimization. This is nearly two years before the unidentified “Jane Doe” publicly filed a rape lawsuit in Clark County in Las Vegas in 2025, which forced Sharpe to step down from ESPN indefinitely.
There are similarities in the two lawsuits
Evans said she dated Sharpe for about a decade when she confronted him about his alleged infidelity, according to the court documents obtained by Page Six.
In the filing, Evans said Sharpe responded to her inquiry by asking if they can have sex. But when she denied him, he allegedly forced himself upon her.
Michelle Evans claims Shannon Sharpe forced himself on her
“The Defendant proceeded to forcefully subdue me, compelling me to my knees and subsequently engaging in non-consensual oral penetration,” the complaint states. “Despite my protests, he persisted in this violation.”
Furthermore, Evans claims that after he forced her to perform oral sex, the ex-footballer then sexually assaulted her again.
“Thereafter, Shannon’s coercion escalated as he maneuvered me onto the bed and achieved non-consensual vaginal penetration, all the while proclaiming his intent to ‘Make it so no other man would want me,'” Evans alleges.
Michelle Evans filed a defamation lawsuit for slander
To be clear, Evans is not suing Sharpe for sexual assault, which may explain why this was able to be kept quiet for the past two years, until today. She is suing Sharpe for defamation because she said he threatened to derail her life if she ever told anyone about what he allegedly did to her. He is accusing Sharpe of engaging in media commentary that was “rife with defamatory commentary (and) assailing my professional reputation.”
The media contacted Sharpe’s legal representative, who dismissed Evans’ claim as being meritless.
Shannon Sharpe vehemently denies Michelle Evans’ claims
In a statement sent to People magazine on Friday, April 25, Mitchell Schuster, an attorney for Sharpe, said, “It should be of no surprise that when someone famous is in the news, all sorts of people crawl out of the woodwork to share their connection to that person in an attempt to profit from that alleged relationship.”
The statement continues, saying, “In many cases those stories or accusations are nothing more than old news, fanciful exaggerations, or sometimes blatant misrepresentations of fact. They are shared on social media or fed to reporters with intentional factual omissions and no regard for the truth. This is obviously purposeful, designed to create a fabricated narrative. This is exactly what is happening to Shannon Sharpe and the resurrection of the case involving Michele Evans is a perfect example.”
Sharpe’s attorney continued, saying Evans could not find an attorney to represent her.
“When she could not find a lawyer to pursue her outrageous story, she filed a civil complaint on her own that is completely devoid of merit. The fact is that Shannon has had no contact with this person for many years.
“Bottom line, Shannon has done nothing wrong and intends to fight back against these malicious lies not with manufactured defenses or imaginary stories but with documentary proof and real evidence.”
If you have been sexually assaulted, or know someone who has, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
