Former NFL star Shannon Sharpe is facing a $50 million lawsuit that is no laughing matter. Another woman, who is being referred to as Jane Doe, has sued him for rape and battery. This is the second lawsuit that Michele Bundy Evans has filed against Sharpe. She alleges that he raped her in 2010 after an explosive fight during which he had accused her of cheating on him. In both instances, those responses have caused Sharpe to declare a short leave of absence from his responsibilities at ESPN. He’s getting ready to take the allegations on—offensively.
In the lawsuit, Jane Doe contends that Sharpe threatened to “ruin” her reputation and “make it so no other man would want [her].” In one incident, she has claimed that Sharpe told her he could “choke” her. Her lawyer, Tony Buzbee, leaked an audio tape that corroborates this assertion. In addition, Jane Doe’s legal team states that Sharpe offered her $10 million during mediation to settle the matter before the lawsuit was filed.
This would seem to put to rest Sharpe’s claim that Jane Doe’s lawsuit—a civil-rights complaint, remember—was a “shakedown.” Sharpe has categorically denied all allegations. He plans to countersue her for defamation. His spokesperson called Michele Evans’ claims “ridiculous and completely without merit,” asserting that Jane Doe “demanded tens of millions of dollars… in return for her not publishing” a purported sex tape involving Sharpe.
In her own words, Michele Bundy Evans describes her traumatic experience with Sharpe. She claims that after their romantic relationship, which lasted about 9 years, he raped her in 2010. In the wake of his alleged attack, she was able to obtain a temporary restraining order against him. She subsequently withdrew it, as she was concerned for her safety and that of her child. In response, Evans shared her overwhelming feeling of foreboding. She was overwhelmed with fear and confusion about what he was going to do, afraid that fighting back would only make it more dangerous.
Legal fights around Sharpe are intensifying. Explicit, sexually suggestive texts, reportedly between him and Jane Doe from March 2023 to January 2025, emerged in recent weeks. Evans described a surreal experience soon after she filed the R.O. She clearly recalled a man cursing at her and telling her, “Shut up, f–king bitch!”
As these cases proceed, both women continue the search for justice as Sharpe works to clear his name. He continues to deny the allegations in no uncertain terms and to plan for a long legal fight.
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