Pro Football Hall of Famer and ESPN commentator Shannon Sharpe and his lawyer are challenging a civil lawsuit in which a woman accuses him of rape.
Sharpe, in a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday, said the suit is a “shakedown” and that he believes a 30-second clip of a “sex tape” will be deceptively cut to make him appear guilty of sexual assault.
Therefore, Sharpe said he wants the full 10-minute recording to be publicly released, believing it will vindicate him.
The lawsuit seeks more than $50 million in damages. Sharpe’s attorney, Lanny Davis, said the accuser turned down a $10 million settlement before filing suit.
Sharpe’s accuser has retained Tony Buzbee, a lawyer known for representing accusers in the Deshaun Watson sexual misconduct case and those who alleged abuse by Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Buzbee and his client shared an audio call that is alleged to feature Sharpe threatening to “choke the (expletive) out of” her. The female voice in the call replied, “I don’t wanna be choked,” and the voice purported to be Sharpe said, “Yes, you do. I don’t think you have a choice in the matter.”
Davis said his client and the plaintiff were engaged in “a consensual, adult relationship that included role-playing, sexual language and fantasy scenarios.” He also said that Sharpe didn’t mean the words literally.
Sharpe, for his part, also said he wants to sue his accuser and Buzbee for defamation.
That audio is separate from the video that Sharpe fears will paint him to be guilty “and play into every stereotype you could possibly imagine.”
“An incredibly damning video does exist,” Buzbee wrote in a message to media members on Tuesday. “That video, which will be played to the jury, is extremely problematic for Mr. Sharpe.”
–Field Level Media
