LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas woman has filed a new lawsuit accusing former NFL player and current podcaster Shannon Sharpe of multiple sexual assaults.
According to the lawsuit, the two met at a gym in Los Angeles in 2023.
The plaintiff, only identified as Jane Doe, states Sharpe would not leave her alone and "over the following weeks, Sharpe made himself unavoidable". Eventually, the complaint states the woman gave in to Sharpe and gave him her phone number.
The two began a "rocky consensual relationship".
In the summer of 2024, Doe and Sharpe both moved to Las Vegas "for their own reasons."
The complaint states Doe thought the two were in a sexually exclusive relationship and that Sharpe "humiliated" her when a Sharpe livestreamed himself having sex with a woman on Instagram in September 2024.
Sharpe originally said he was hacked and that his team was trying to figure out what happened. However, he later stated that he "threw my phone on the bed, engaged in an activity. I did not know IG live. I've never turned IG live on so I don't know how it works and all of a sudden my other phone started going off."
After the incident, Doe claims she stopped answering Sharpe's phone calls and stopped telling him where she was, which upset him. However, she claims he continued calling her multiple times to the point where she "frequently began leaving Nevada determined to cut off communication, resist his efforts to control her, and attempt to reclaim some control of her life."
On Oct. 6, 2024, Doe was working out at a Las Vegas gym when Sharpe approached her and threatened to kill her before forcing her into his car.
When they got to her apartment, the lawsuit states Sharpe forced her into her bedroom and sexually assaulted her allegedly telling her "You've disrespected me so much. I'm going to punish this a******. I'm going to make it so no man will want you again."
On Jan. 2, 2025, the lawsuit states Sharpe told Doe he wanted to see her in order to give her a Christmas and birthday gift. She allowed him to come over to her apartment and that's when she claims he sexually assaulted her again.
Doe is seeking $50 million and claims "it is imperative that Shannon Sharpe and those like him are held accountable for their actions to prevent them from engaging in further sexual assault and sodomy and harming future victims."
Doe's attorneys claim this is not the first time that Sharpe has faced these claims and that he is currently being sued by another former girlfriend in the State of New York.
Attorneys for Sharpe emailed me claiming the Nevada lawsuit "is a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars. It is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations — and it will not succeed."
Sharpe's attorneys also state that Doe presented Sharpe with a secretly recorded video of a consensual sexual encounter, which they believe has been "heavily edited and taken entirely out of context, crafted to falsely portray a consensual act as non-consensual."
Dozens of text messages provided by Sharpe's attorneys also claim to show Doe sending messages like "I want you to put a dog collar around my neck and choke me with it while you're f****** me" to Sharpe.
Another message reads: "I know u miss this big juicy a**... $25k for each cheek."
"Those messages are just a sampling of a broader pattern of graphic, sexual communications initiated by [Doe]," the statement reads in part. "The evidence paints a clear picture: this was a consensual, adult relationship that included role-playing, sexual language, and fantasy scenarios explicitly requested by [Doe]."
According to Sharpe's attorneys, Sharpe denies all allegations of coercion or misconduct and that he is prepared to fight these false claims vigorously in court.
"He looks forward to vindication through due process and a judgment based on the facts and the law."
Sharpe's contract with Colin Cowherd's "The Volume" Network is up this year and Sharpe could sign a new deal worth up to $100 million.