NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe accused of sexual assault, battery in $50 million lawsuit

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Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe has been accused of sexual assault and battery in a $50 million lawsuit filed on Sunday, according to multiple reports. The former NFL player denied all accusations in a statement through his attorney on Monday, calling the civil suit an attempt to "blackmail" him. 

According to the lawsuit obtained by ProFootballTalk, Sharpe was accused of assault, sexual assault, battery and sexual battery. The 13-page complaint, filed in a Nevada state court, accused the three-time Super Bowl champion of engaging "in the intentional infliction of emotional distress."

Shannon Sharpe (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

The plaintiff claimed that the two began a "rocky consensual relationship" sometime in 2023, which lasted around two years. According to USA Today, the plaintiff was 19 at the time that she met Sharpe. She claimed she was sexually assaulted on two occasions, once in October 2024 and again in January of this year. 

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The complaint accused Sharpe of "manipulating and controlling Plaintiff" and making threats of violence against her. 

"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 read, via ProFootballTalk’s reporting. "Defendant Shannon Sharpe, a man who is accustomed to getting what he wants, completely fails to understand this basic concept. 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