NFL Legend Shannon Sharpe Accused Of Rape, In A New $50M Lawsuit

On Sunday, April 20, 2025, the NFL player-turned-broadcaster Shannon Sharpe was sued in Nevada for allegedly raping a woman known as Jane Doe multiple times.

In court filings, the accused victim stated that she was sexually attacked several times by 56-year-old Sharpe at the end of 2024 and the start of 2025.

The victim had been in an abusive relationship for years before the sports commentator reportedly sexually attacked her.

The plaintiff said that after a “rocky,” abusive relationship with the sports announcer that lasted for years, the assaults occurred.

According to the lawsuit, Sharpe and Doe met in 2023 at a Los Angeles gym when she was 20 and he was in his mid-50s.

Doe claimed the “Club Shay Shay” host told her during the encounter that he would “buy her fake t-ts” if she won a weight-loss competition with him.

The former athlete and the woman eventually started a consensual relationship after he allegedly pursued her relentlessly, calling, texting, and “demanding she come to his Beverly Glen mansion.” However, Doe claimed Sharpe was verbally abusive and controlling.

“He demanded complete control over her time and body, expecting her to be at his house on his schedule, at his command, whenever he called,” attorney Tony Buzbee wrote in the documents.

When they allegedly got into a heated disagreement and the former football player was clearly carrying a gun in the room, Doe felt terrified.

After Sharpe livestreamed himself having sex, the plaintiff said she attempted to end their relationship.

“Plaintiff tried sharing her location with friends from her iPhone — just in case,” the filing stated. “But Sharpe saw her doing this. The moment he realized what she was doing, he grabbed her by the neck and told her, ‘If you ever do that again, I will f–king kill you.’”

Doe said she “began to pull away from Sharpe” after he was heard having sex on Instagram Live last September, but she claimed her attempt to break up with him led to him raping her.

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Doe is requesting $50 million in damages from the Hall of Fame tight end, who recently made headlines for eyeing a podcast contract worth over $100 million. She claimed that the first time he raped her was in October when he forced himself on her while she was “crying and sobbing.”

The second alleged sexual assault occurred in January when he came over to her house pretending to be giving her a Christmas gift, only to rape her once more.

“I’m extremely proud to represent Jane Doe,” Buzbee said in a statement. “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up against those with power, fame and money. I look forward to pressing this case in court.”