Ex-Raven Plans Defamation Lawsuit, Pauses ESPN Work After Rape Allegations

OWINGS MILLS, MD — A former Baltimore Raven said Thursday that he is electing to step aside from his work as an ESPN analyst temporarily as he plans a defamation lawsuit in response to rape allegations against him.

Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe on Monday denied the accusations made against him in a lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages, saying he was framed with a heavily edited video.

Sharpe, who played for the Ravens in 2000 and 2001, plans to return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason.

"I will be devoting this time to my family, and responding and dealing with these false and disruptive allegations set against me," Sharpe said in a Thursday statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. "I sincerely appreciate the overwhelming and ongoing support I have received from my family, fans, friends and colleagues."

Sharpe said on X that "The relationship in question was 100% consensual."

"This is a shakedown. I'm going to be open, transparent and defend myself, because this isn't right," Sharpe said in a Tuesday Instagram Reel.

Sharpe alleged the woman accusing him is an OnlyFans model working with Tony Buzbee. Buzbee is a lawyer who led a separate sexual assault lawsuit against rapper Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs that has since been dismissed.

"Tony Buzbee targets Black men, and I believe he's going to release a 30-second clip of a sex tape that tries to make me look guilty and play into every stereotype you could possibly imagine. That video should actually be 10 minutes or so. Hey, Tony, instead of releasing your edit, put the whole video out. I don't have it, or I would myself. You know what happened, and you're trying to manipulate the media," Sharpe said in the Reel.

Sharpe said, "The encounter in question took place during the day at her invitation, and now that appears to be a deliberate set-up."

"[They] want $50 million. What they're getting is sued for defamation and trying to take me down. My career is all about real talk and honesty. I know my family and fans know exactly what this is about. And I'm going to be out there telling you whatever I need to say, just like I always do," Sharpe said.

Related: Ex-Raven Shannon Sharpe Denies Rape Accusation, Says He Was Framed

The lawsuit reviewed by USA Today said the woman, only identified as "Jane Doe" seeks millions in damages and alleges "sexual assault and battery, and engaging in the intentional infliction of emotional distress."

Sharpe won three Super Bowls, including one with the Ravens, during his 14 NFL seasons. Since his playing career ended, he has worked as an analyst on ESPN and hosts the podcast, "Club Shay Shay."

The plaintiff said she met Sharpe at a Los Angeles gym in 2023 when she was 19, USA Today reported. She alleged that Sharpe, currently 56, sexually assaulted her twice in the last year.

The 13-page lawsuit filed in a Nevada state court said the relationship started as a "rocky consensual relationship" that lasted nearly two years, NBC's Pro Football Talk reported.

The suit said the relationship grew problematic when the plaintiff "began to pull away from Sharpe" after he accidentally live-streamed audio of a sexual encounter with another woman, Pro Football Talk said.

USA Today said the plaintiff alleged that Sharpe recorded their sexual encounters without her consent and once threatened to kill her.

"Sharpe flew into fits of anger when Plaintiff noted his infidelity to their relationship, or called him out about his extraneous activities," the lawsuit said, according to USA Today. "What had once been manipulation, control and intimidation now became something far more dangerous and sinister. Sharpe even figured out how to get into Doe’s apartment complex without her permission."

Pro Football Talk said the complaint alleged that Sharpe forced sex against the woman's consent in October 2024 and engaged in unprotected sex with the plaintiff, despite her efforts in January to get him either to stop or to wear a condom.

"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. Defendant Shannon Sharpe, a man who is accustomed to getting what he wants, completely fails to understand this basic concept," the suit said, according to Pro Football Talk. "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.’"

Sharpe's legal team released several of what they said were sexually explicit texts from the plaintiff to the defendant.

"The evidence paints a clear picture: this was a consensual, adult relationship that included role-playing, sexual language, and fantasy scenarios explicitly requested by [the plaintiff]," Attorney Lanny J. Davis said in a Monday statement posted on Sharpe's Facebook page.