Shannon Sharpe lawsuit, explained: What to know about sexual assault allegations against ESPN host

Warning: This story contains details about alleged sexual abuse.

NFL Hall of Famer and current ESPN personality Shannon Sharpe was reportedly named in a lawsuit Sunday alleging he committed sexual assault and battery.

TMZ was the first to report that Sharpe was being sued by a woman under the "Jane Doe" pseudonym in Nevada.

The lawsuit states that Sharpe "brutally sexually assaulted her several times at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025," TMZ reported, and he is being sued for over $50 million.

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Here's what to know about the lawsuit against Sharpe.

Shannon Sharpe lawsuit, explained

A 13-page civil complaint in a Nevada state court alleges that Sharpe met a woman in 2023 at a gym in Los Angeles, when she was 20 years old and he was in his 50s. Sharpe allegedly began to "pursue her relentlessly" through calls, texts and inviting her to his home.

The woman who filed the lawsuit said that she and Sharpe were eventually in a consensual relationship, but the former football star was "controlling."

"He demanded complete control over her time and body," attorney Tony Buzbee wrote in the suit, per TMZ. "Expecting her to be at his house on his schedule, at his command, whenever he called."

The anonymous woman claimed that during one argument, a firearm was visible in the room, and when Sharpe noticed her sharing her phone's location with friends, "He grabbed her by the neck and told her, 'If you ever do that again, I will f—ing kill you.'"

The lawsuit also states that Sharpe moved with the woman to Nevada in the summer of 2024, and Sharpe allegedly raped her after she tried to end the relationship due to him being on Instagram Live having relations with another woman. The complaint states that Sharpe first forced himself on her in October 2024.

The complaint also alleges that Sharpe would record their sexual activities without her permission and share them with others, but it was not the plaintiff who was recorded in Sharpe's Instagram Live incident.

Another alleged incident happened in January 2025, as Sharpe allegedly came over to the woman's house with gifts, then engaged in unprotected sex despite the woman telling him to stop or protect himself.

"After many months of manipulating and controlling Plaintiff—a woman more than thirty years younger than he—and repeatedly threatening to brutally choke and violently slap her, Sharpe refused to accept the answer no and raped Plaintiff, despite her sobbing and repeated screams of ‘no,'" the lawsuit states, per NBC Sports.

Micah Nash and Buzbee represent the woman under the "Jane Doe" pseudonym. Buzbee represented over 20 plaintiffs who sued quarterback Deshaun Watson beginning in 2021.

Because it is a civil case, there are no criminal consequences attached to the lawsuit.

Sharpe released a statement on the lawsuit Monday afternoon via X, including graphic text messages he allegedly received from the plaintiff that suggest their relations were entirely consensual. He also names the alleged plaintiff in his statement, which reads that "Mr. Sharpe categorically denies all allegations of coercion or misconduct."

On Tuesday, the woman under the "Jane Doe" pseudonym released audio of a conversation between her and Sharpe to TMZ, where Sharpe reportedly says he is "going to f---ing choke the s--- out" of the woman. The context of the conversation is unclear, but Buzbee called the contents of the audio "disturbing, aggressive and dangerous" to TMZ.

Buzbee released another file to TMZ on Wednesday further implicating Sharpe in sexual misconduct. The file, another recording of a phone call, featured conversations in which Sharpe reportedly threatened to choke her.

"I might choke you in public," Sharpe reportedly said.

The accuser also claimed that Sharpe raped her, telling Sharpe that she cried after he refused to put a condom on and penetrated her anally against her wishes.

"I don't care what our history is," the accuser said. "No means no, Shannon."

Sharpe spoke on the lawsuit Tuesday, posting a video to his X account where he said he's going to defend himself and "this is all being orchestrated by Tony Buzbee," who Sharpe said is attempting to "manipulate the media" with the leaked audio.

Also on Tuesday, Sharpe's attorney Lanny Davis stated on a conference call that Sharpe had offered the woman $10 million to settle the case before the lawsuit was filed.

Later that day, Stephen A. Smith — Sharpe's co-host on "First Take" — told listeners that the ESPN brass is mulling over Sharpe's future amid Jane Doe's recent lawsuit.

On "The Stephen A. Smith Show", Smith said ESPN chair Jimmy Pitaro told him the network is " taking this matter very seriously."

"[Pitaro said] we are looking into this very, very closely," Smith said. "And once we gather as many facts as we possibly can, we will go from there."

On Thursday, Sharpe released a statement announcing he will be "temporarily" stepping aside from ESPN.

"I will be devoting the time to my family, and responding and dealing with the false and disruptive allegations set against me," Sharpe said. "I plan to return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason."

Who is Shannon Sharpe's girlfriend? 

As of April 2025, Sharpe's romantic life is unknown, and the plaintiff in the lawsuit remained anonymous. 

However, in the past, Sharpe was linked to relationships with fitness trainer Kelly Kellner for several years, with exact dates unknown, and with Eddie Murphy's ex-wife, Nicole Murphy. After the two posted a picture together in 2017, Murphy said they were not dating, per Today.