Shannon Sharpe, who is currently being sued for $50 million by a “Jane Doe” in the state of Nevada for rape and sexual assault, also has a $4 million defamation lawsuit pending against him, filed by a woman who claimed the NFL Hall of Famer raped her in 2010, according to the New York Post.
Michele Bundy Evans, claims that she and Sharpe had been dating for nearly 10 years when he sexually assaulted and raped her after an argument in September 2010. She claims Sharpe then threatened her life, after which she filed for a restraining order against him. According to the U.S. Sun, after somebody showed up at her front door yelling expletives at her, Evans dropped the restraining order out of fear for her and her daughter’s life. Sharpe reportedly stepped away from his spot as an NFL analyst on CBS Sports after the news of the restraining order hit the news cycle back in 2010.
Now in what appears like deja vu, on April 24, Sharpe announced that he was temporarily stepping away from ESPN to deal with the lawsuit filed by “Jane Doe,” who documents revealed was a 19-year-old when the two first met.
In 2023, Michelle Evans filed a defamation suit against Sharpe for “divulging their ongoing legal dispute on television.” In her suit, she detailed the alleged 2010 rape and Sharpe’s threats to ruin her if she were to disclose what happened. Evans noted similarities between her and the lawsuit filed by “Jane Doe.”
“I want people to understand what Shannon did to this woman, by doxing her, by putting out her name, by putting out her OnlyFans account. That was horrifying, because things are going to happen to her because of that. I still get it to this day, and I went through a lot of things, as you can see in the complaint, that actually even stemmed from it,” she said, according to The U.S. Sun.
Sharpe has denied all allegations against him in both suits and his lawyers have called the defamation suit by Evans, “nonsense.”
Vincent Morris, Sharpe’s attorney said in a statement to The New York Post, “Michelle Evans’ claims are ridiculous and completely without merit. She could not find a lawyer to take her case and if you read her complaint, you’ll see it is filled with nonsense. Shannon has had no contact with her for many years and we understand that she is still on probation after serving three years in prison.”
In 2017, Evans served time in prison stemming from a domestic violence dispute with her then-husband.
Sharpe has not been charged with a crime or arrested in relation to either lawsuit.
