Shannon Sharpe. Photo:
Paras Griffin/Getty
Shannon Sharpe, who has been accused of rape in a lawsuit, says he is the victim of a “shakedown” and claimed his accuser’s attorney “targets Black men.”
The woman suing Sharpe says she was raped on more than one occasion by the NFL Hall of Famer, with whom she was in a consensual relationship for nearly two years. She is suing in Nevada state court under the name Jane Doe.
Sharpe has denied the allegations through his attorney, Lanny Davis, who says in a statement it was a “consensual, adult relationship that included role-playing, sexual language, and fantasy scenarios.”
After the allegations were made public, Sharpe, who is now a noted sports media personality with a substantial social media following, addressed the lawsuit in a social media video, in which he assailed the plaintiff’s attorney, Tony Buzbee.
“This is a shakedown,” Sharpe said. “I’m going to be open, transparent and defend myself because this isn’t right. This is all being orchestrated by Tony Buzbee.”
Sharpe further accused Buzbee, who represents several clients accusing Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual misconduct, of targeting Black men. One of Buzbee’s clients also accused Jay-Z of sexual assault, though that lawsuit has since been withdrawn.
Sharpe claimed that Buzbee was going to release a portion of a sex tape “that tries to make me look guilty” and called on the Houston-based attorney to release the entire tape, rather than an edited clip.
Following Sharpe’s social media video, his lawyer, Davis — who was once the special counsel to former President Bill Clinton — held a conference call with reporters, during which he excoriated the plaintiff’s claims.
“I can say without any doubt as an attorney that this lawsuit will not be successful because it is not based on facts, it’s based on falsehoods,” Davis said, calling the rape accusation “viciously false.”
Davis also addressed an audio recording of a purported conversation between Sharpe and the plaintiff released by Buzbee.
In it the plaintiff tells Sharpe not to “manipulate” her.
“If you say that word one more time, I’m gonna f—— choke the s— out of you when I see you,” a voice resembling Sharpe’s says in the recording obtained by PEOPLE.
Davis said his client made the statement in the “heat of the moment” during an argument and did not actually intend to harm the woman.
Davis also urged Buzbee to hand over a copy of the purported sex tape to an expert to determine if it has been edited to exclude certain context.
“The act that is being portrayed was consensual,” Davis said.
Buzbee seemingly referenced the sex tape in a statement made prior to Sharpe’s social media video.
“Incredibly damning video does indeed exist,” Buzbee said. The contents of that video speak volumes about Mr. Sharpe and his behavior. That video, which will be played to the jury, is extremely problematic for Mr. Sharpe.”
Davis claimed that Sharpe’s legal team was shown a copy of the tape during mediation.
Davis said that before he joined Sharpe’s legal team, the former NFL star was prepared to pay a settlement with the plaintiff of “at least $10 million” after undergoing mediation before she filed the lawsuit “without warning.”
“She did demand that amount of money and it certainly strikes us as a classic case of a shakedown and blackmail after a consensual sexual relationship,” Davis claimed.
In response to the initial allegations, both Sharpe and Davis released the name of his accuser, with Davis claiming that she had “waived her right to privacy” by making a “willfully false” accusation.
Further, Sharpe’s lawyers have released purported text messages between the two, which Davis says “shows a pattern of sexual role-playing” initiated by the plaintiff.
In his social media video, Sharpe suggested he would sue the plaintiff for defamation.
“There will be a counterclaim,” Davis said.
Buzbee did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the potential defamation suit.
“Instead of owning up to his actions, Sharpe has chosen to mislead his lawyers and the public, and double down — this time by doxing Jane Doe, and attempting to humiliate into silence this woman who is 30 years his junior,” Buzbee said in an earlier comment. “Mr. Sharpe’s aggressive approach will instead have the opposite effect. Ms. Doe is not afraid of the truth — she relies upon it.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
