Many sports fans were understandably swayed on Tuesday when news came out that Shannon Sharpe had offered his accuser $10 million to settle before she filed a lawsuit earlier in the week accusing the prominent sports personality of sexual assault.
But as Sharpe and his team continue to fight a battle in the court of public opinion, his lawyer Lanny J. Davis issued a statement to Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk attempting to clarify the intentions behind Sharpe’s efforts to settle with the plaintiff.
Davis wrote that Sharpe’s willingness to pay the woman $10 million should not be taken as an admission of guilt, but rather an effort to avoid “public embarrassment”:
“Mr. Sharpe decided to pay the substantial blackmail money demanded by the [plaintiff] for the same reason why many many other innocent people subject to a blackmail threat decide, usually painfully, to pay the blackmailer for the same reasons [as] Mr. Sharpe, having absolutely nothing to do with any admission of wrongdoing: In Mr. Sharpe’s case as in the case of virtually all other similar subjects of blackmail, the reason [was] primarily to avoid public embarrassment for himself and his family and other adverse consequences to his life and reputation.”
The civil lawsuit stems from a seemingly consensual relationship beginning in late 2023 that the accuser (who filed a lawsuit under the anonymous Jane Doe pseudonym) claims turned violent and manipulative against her wishes earlier this year. The lawsuit was filed shortly after reports arose suggesting Shannon Sharpe was in line for a $100 million deal for the digital shows he hosts.
Both Sharpe and Davis continue to call the plaintiff’s allegations, which include multiple instances of rape and battery, “lies.” Sharpe has named the situation a “shake-down” while Davis has repeatedly referred to it as “blackmail.”
Sharpe’s team has also released extensive text message history between the two, attempting to highlight the pair’s aggressive sexual practices. In response, the accuser’s lawyers have released multiple audio clips that allegedly feature Sharpe threatening to choke her.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.