The first court hearing in the Shannon Sharpe rape lawsuit ended with a disappointed judge because the woman who filed the complaint didn’t bother to show up.
The plaintiff and her attorney were no shows
According to KLAS in Las Vegas, no attorney showed up on behalf of the unidentified plaintiff during the hearing. Clark County District Court Judge Anna Albertson reportedly expressed “disappointment” that the plaintiff had no legal representation at the start of the hearing.
Sharpe, who was not in Vegas, was represented by attorney Robert DeMarco. Sharpe’s attorney, therefore, requested that the judge review the progress of the case and extend it by 45 days.
The judge delays the case
The judge granted the extension, and the next hearing will be on Sept. 3.
Legal analysts wondered aloud if this was part of the accuser’s strategy. “Whether to set up a settlement conference or to set hearings for litigation, you’d expect all parties to be present,” attorney Robert Draskovich told KLAS-TV. “I can’t see a tactical advantage to be gained by failing to appear.”
At the same time, Draskovich also questioned the wisdom of Sharpe being represented by an attorney who is not from the city.
“Generally, it’s better to have home-grown counsel,” he said.
Shannon Sharpe publicly shamed
As has been reported ad nauseam, the unidentified woman, named “Jane Doe,” filed a $50 million lawsuit against the NFL Hall of Famer and ESPN personality for allegedly raping and assaulting her in November 2024 and again in January 2025.
Sharpe vehemently and categorically denied his accuser’s claims, saying online, “This is a shakedown… I’m going to defend myself, because this isn’t right.”
Shannon Sharpe ousted from ESPN
Unfortunately for Sharpe, this sexual assault lawsuit has besmirched his reputation, perhaps permanently, because the 57-year-old Sharpe vigorously pursued the woman who was 19 at the time they met at a Los Angeles gym. The legal documents contain salacious and cringeworthy testimony by the woman. Included is the assertion that Sharpe sodomized her when she begged him not to penetrate her anally. She also contends in the filings that he ordered her to digitally penetrate his anus during their sexual encounters.
Because the woman is accusing Sharpe of sordid and vile bedroom behavior, Disney and ESPN executives ordered Sharpe to go on an indefinite hiatus from the popular sports talk show, “First Take,” that stars Stephen A. Smith. He said at the time of the moratorium that he would return in time for NFL preseason, which begins in August, but some sports pundits believe his time at ESPN is over.
Sharpe still operates his two popular podcasts, “Club Shay Shay” and “Nightcap,” the latter co-hosted by former NFL star Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, where Sharpe has ironically commented on the Diddy sex trafficking trial.
