The situation surrounding the sexual assault lawsuit filed against Shannon Sharpe on Sunday continues to move at warp speed. The latest development involved his attorney, Lanny Davis, holding a press conference to presumably provide further evidence to back up his client’s innocence.
Perhaps the most interesting new piece of information that Davis provided was that Sharpe had offered “tens of millions of dollars” to settle the case before the lawsuit was eventually filed, as reported by Pro Football Talk. When pushed for clarification, Davis said it was “at least $10 million.”
He added that these discussions took place as part of a formal mediation session before he was representing Sharpe.
Whatever negotiations had been happening behind the scenes, they clearly fell apart as Sharpe was served with a 13-page lawsuit Sunday by a woman who alleged the popular sports media personality committed sexual assault and battery against her and secretly recorded sexual encounters without her knowledge.
Sharpe appeared on First Take on Monday morning, but the lawsuit was not mentioned. Later that afternoon, Sharpe responded publicly, sharing a two-page statement from his legal counsel saying he “categorically denies all allegations of coercion or misconduct.” Sharpe’s lawyer also included text messages purportedly sent by the plaintiff that are intended to show that she consented to the sexual acts with Sharpe. Also included in the statement are claims his accuser deceptively edited video of her and Sharpe’s sexual encounters to suggest the acts were non-consensual.
Sharpe appeared on First Take on Tuesday, but did not address any allegations. However, the accuser’s attorney Tony Buzbee released audio purportedly between the woman and Sharpe in which the two are arguing and Sharpe can allegedly be heard saying, “Lord have mercy. If you say that word one more time, I will f*cking choke the sh*t out of you when I see you.”
A short time after First Take went off the air, Sharpe appeared in a video released to his social media accounts, calling it a “shakedown.” He claimed the released audio was part of a much longer sex tape and has been manipulated to portray him in a negative light and blames Busbee as the orchestrator behind it in an attempt to target another high profile Black man (Busbee represented accusers against Jay-Z and Deshaun Watson). Sharpe also said that he plans to file a defamation suit.
ESPN has yet to comment on Sharpe or the lawsuit.
That’s where things stand as of Tuesday afternoon. More to come on this story soon, no doubt.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.