CW for intimate partner violence, discussion of sexual assault
Last week, Shannon Sharpe announced he would be stepping away from his role at ESPN over disturbing allegations outlined in a hefty lawsuit being levied against him by an ex-girlfriend, who, despite being named as Jane Doe on court documents, had her identity and OnlyFans page revealed by Shannon during his addressing of the lawsuit. The pair began dating when he was 54 years old, and her, just 19. She is suing the former NFL player turned sports commentator and podcast host for $50 million over sexual assault and battery allegations.
She filed the lawsuit last week in Nevada, alleging that he engaged in the intentional infliction of emotional distress, saying he had assaulted her twice, once in October 2024 and again this January. She alleges Shannon grew increasingly violent throughout their relationship, threatening to kill her on one occasion and recording the two of them having sex without her knowledge or consent.
The lawsuit reads:
"Sharpe flew into fits of anger when Plaintiff noted his infidelity to their relationship or called him out about his extraneous activities. 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."
Jane Doe is now the second woman to go on record with a lawsuit against Shannon, who, again, stepped away from his role as an analyst during his time at CBS Sports following claims made by another ex-girlfriend of his, Michele Bundy Evans. In 2023, Michele sued Shannon for defamation, libel and slander after remarks he made when she filed a restraining order over an ordeal she says took place more than a decade prior in 2010.
According to court documents and an interview with The U.S. Sun, Michele and Shannon dated for almost a decade when they got into a dispute over her accusing him of infidelity. Michele says he then subdued her, forcing her into non-consensual sex. After this incident, Michele says Shannon ‘levied threats of ruin’, threatening to use his network to destroy her.
She ended up dropping the restraining order over fear of retribution which would endanger both her and her daughter, but her $4 million lawsuit against him, which she says is based on him repeatedly addressing their legal entanglements on TV and other public broadcasts, causing her harm and damaging her reputation, is still ongoing.
Michele spoke out in defence of Jane Doe, painting the picture of the harm he is causing by making her identity known, saying:
"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."
Shannon’s legal team has employed the typical tactics we see in cases like this, calling it a ‘shakedown’, releasing explicit text messages from his accuser and essentially painting the picture that because they had engaged in the type of sex that they did, which included roleplaying and aspects of BDSM at some points in their relationship, that her claims must be entirely unfounded. This is an incredibly dangerous narrative, because one of the main functions of BDSM is consent, which, to be clear, can be withdrawn at any point in time.
As for his legal team trying to leverage this aspect of their relationship, it isn’t necessarily the strongest tactic. Neither is that fact that his lawyer, Lanny Davis, revealed that Shannon made her a previous offer of $10 million to settle the matter before she filed her lawsuit. That in itself certainly raises some eyebrows.
There are other dangerous narratives floating around, like the idea that there is a double standard for people like Shannon and Tracee Ellis Ross, who recently remarked that she is open to dating younger men because they’re more open-minded, criticizing men her age (read: Shannon), who she says are ‘steeped in a toxic masculinity’. I wrote about that here.
The social media users above seen asking for people to ‘make it make sense’ are seemingly having issues connecting dots that, for people with even the most basic understanding of power dynamics, appear to be quite obvious – and it begs the question of whether they’re being obtuse on purpose to help further a very misogynistic agenda that renders women unworthy of protection, respect and bodily autonomy.
To be clear, when a woman like Tracee Ellis Ross – who, throughout her career, has managed to uphold a pristine public image and reputation, avoid scandal and remain non-predatory, says that she’s open to dating younger men as a means of avoiding the very same toxic masculinity we’re seeing on full display by both Shannon and his legal team, she’s not saying she would have forceful sexual interactions with someone 35 years younger than her.
Meanwhile, clips of Shannon being warned about dating younger women have been resurfacing in the wake of these allegations. When Mo’Nique appeared on Club Shay Shay, she lovingly, but sternly reminded him of the following:
“You don’t need no 26-year-old girl, you don’t need no 36-year-old girl…take your old ass and get you an old b-tch out there that can love you old. You trying to hang out with these young b-tches, you can’t do it Shannon, you just can’t do it.”
In much of the discussion about age gap relationships, what we’re actually talking about is the power dynamic and the power discrepancy, not necessarily the amount of years between two people. In this case, yes, the more than three-decade gap between his ex-partner and him is certainly concerning, but it’s not nearly as concerning as the power dynamics at play.
So what are the power dynamics? It’s him being able to throw $10 million - at someone he knows primarily earns her living off of being a content creator on OnlyFans - just to get them to stay quiet, to go away. It’s him naming her publicly, despite her filing the lawsuit under the Jane Doe alias, knowing that she will become an internet sensation over allegedly being sexually assaulted.
And perhaps one of the less obvious elements of power here, but certainly a very telling one, is him doing all of this and still having an army of men and women, so poisoned by the same toxic masculinity Tracee and many others are trying to escape, that rather than be held to account, will step up on his behalf to excuse bad and predatory behaviour and judgement and turn this around on his accuser instead.
Unsurprisingly, there are tons of suggestions that she is only after the money. But if that is indeed the case, I can’t help but think longer and harder on Shannon’s initial offer of a whopping, life-changing $10 million being denied in pursuit of something greater. Greater money, yes, but, perhaps a greater sense of justice, too. I can only surmise that if this was all complete nonsense and she truly did not feel she stood a chance of winning, she would have accepted the money.
Mike Florio, a sports writer and former lawyer had an interesting take on this, and published his exchange with Shannon’s lawyer to Yahoo! News, which read:
“It will be hard for the average person to reconcile a loud insistence that the claim is false with an offer to pay at least $10 million to settle the case. And if Sharpe is indeed being blackmailed, there are ways to respond that would better mesh with the reasonably expected reaction to such a threat,” he wrote.
Mike went onto outline other solutions, like handing the matter over to police or filing a pre-emptive lawsuit. But instead, he offered a whopping $10 million, named his anonymous accuser, and let the internet discredit her based on their sexual activity and her means of earning an income. That is stupidity, that is misogyny, but at its core, it is power, wielded against someone who simply doesn't have the same power herself.
