NFL Hall of Famer Accused of Rape in Las Vegas Lawsuit

Posted on: April 21, 2025, 07:00h. 

Last updated on: April 22, 2025, 09:05h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.
  • A $50 million civil suit filed against Shannon Sharpe accuses the former football star of multiple counts of sexual abuse
  •  Sharpe’s attorney claims the sex was consensual and that the lawsuit is nothing more than a blackmail attempt

NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe is accused of multiple counts of rape in a $50 million lawsuit filed in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Shannon Sharpe is shown during the April 11 episode of his “Club Shay Shay” podcast. (Image: X/@ClubShayShay)

The civil complaint accuses the former tight end of offenses including sexual battery and sexual assault against a woman referred to only by the pseudonym “Jane Doe.”

According to the New York Post, which broke the story Monday, the lawsuit accuses Sharpe of “manipulating and controlling” the plaintiff during a nearly two-year relationship that started consensually in 2023, when the plaintiff was 20 years old and he was 54.

During visits to the plaintiff’s Las Vegas apartment between October 2024 and January 2025, the complaint alleges, the ESPN analyst and host of the popular “Club Shay Shay” podcast “violently sexually assaulted and anally raped plaintiff … blatantly ignoring her requests for him to stop.”

“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,” the complaint states, according to The Post.

The lawsuit also claims that Sharpe repeatedly threatened to kill the plaintiff.

“One time specifically, he was yelling at her while there was a firearm visible in his room,” it states. “Terrified for her safety, plaintiff tried sharing her location with friends from her iPhone — just in case. 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****** kill you.’”

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages of more than $50 million.

‘It’s Blackmail,’ Says Sharpe’s Attorney

On Monday afternoon, Sharpe posted a two-page statement to his X account written by his attorney, Lanny J. Davis. The statement purports to reveal the contents of a text from the plaintiff, who is revealed by name, asking “to put a dog collar around my neck and choke me with it.”

The statement called the lawsuit “a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars” that is “filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations.”

No criminal charges have been filed.

Sharpe was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 1990 and retired following the 2003 season as the NFL’s all-time leader in catches, yards, and touchdowns by a tight end. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.