Shannon Sharpe keeps getting caught up in sex-related incidents, and it’s getting harder to ignore the behavior.
The NFL veteran is facing a $50 million lawsuit for alleged sexual assault by his ex-girlfriend during their two-year relationship, as previously reported by The Root.
The ESPN analyst and retired Hall of Fame tight end quickly refuted the allegations, calling the former mate a “shakedown” and defending the sexual encounters as consensual. His behavior off-camera is drawing criticism with every new development.
In order to keep the matter from going public, Sharpe’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, reportedly disclosed that the NFL veteran had already given the alleged victim $10 million. During a press conference, Davis gave more background on the $50 million lawsuit that Gabrielle Zuniga, the ex-girlfriend, filed.
READ MORE: Shannon Sharpe Vows To Sue Rape Accuser For Defamation
During mediation talks this past month, a multi-million dollar offer was presented, but Zuniga rejected it. “We were really taken aback when this case was filed out of the blue,” Davis remarked. Zuniga recently made public a taped exchange in which Sharpe is heard screaming, “I’m going to f**g choke the s out of you.”
Through her lawyer, Tony Buzbee, who is well-known and notorious for his cases against Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Sean “Diddy” Combs, Zuniga filed the lawsuit in Nevada on Sunday. When she was twenty years old in 2023, the ex-couple first met at a gym in Los Angeles. She allegedly cited physical and controlling abuse when she started the consensual connection with Sharpe.
READ MORE: Returning To ESPN, Shannon Sharpe Capitalizes On The Viral Sex Video Gaffe
In a statement, Buzbee said, “He demanded complete control over her time and body…expecting her to be at his house on his schedule, at his command, whenever he called.” The lawsuit claims that when she tried to break up with the “Nightcap” host in late 2024, Sharpe reportedly raped her. According to her, the abuse recurred in January 2025.
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The complainant reportedly approached Shannon with the alleged assault in January 2025, citing recently made public text messages. “I cried when you left because I begged you to put a condom on and not put it in my ass, and you didn’t listen,” she wrote in one of her messages. “I don’t care what our history is, no means no, Shannon,” she continued in a follow-up message.
READ MORE: Shannon Sharpe Blames Hackers After An Instagram Live Sex Video Goes Viral
There has been a lot of discussion on the internet regarding Sharpe’s actions. “Shannon Sharpe began to play with this girl when she was 19 back in 2023,” comedian Clint Coley stated. The age of Shannon Sharpe is 55. He would HAVE to perceive me as a parent of two girls, and that is not cool.
“Unpopular opinion about the Shannon Sharpe lawsuit” was posted by another Threads commentator. Being treated disrespectfully, denigrated, etc., does not bother BM. As long as BW isn’t the source.
“What’s happening to Shannon Sharpe is an ancestral dragging,” one X commentator wrote. He was informed by real people on his show that he needs to quit having sex with those young females.
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