The legal team of a woman who has filed a lawsuit accusing ESPN sports man Shannon Sharpe of rape has released audio in which Sharpe allegedly threatens to choke the woman.
On Monday, a woman who is thus far remaining anonymous filed a $50 million lawsuit against the First Take host alleging that he raped her at least twice during a several year’s-long abusive relationship.
Now her attorney, Tony Buzbee, has released a snippet of audio that he says shows Sharpe’s abusive behavior.
In the released audio, a male voice that sounds like Sharpe says, “You want to be a dick to me now, so…
The unidentified woman replies, “I don’t want to be. Don’t manipulate me.”
The male replies, saying, “Ah, lord, have mercy. If you say that word one more time, I’m gonna fucking choke the shit out of you when I see you.”
After a pause, the woman then adds, “No, I don’t want to be choked.”
The male voice then replies, “Yes, you do. I don’t think you have a choice in the matter.”
𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: The attorney for the woman accusing Shannon Sharpe of rape has released an audio file of Sharpe threatening to “choke the shit” out of her.pic.twitter.com/dAqnDGcYSA
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 22, 2025
In a note to Front Office Sports, attorney Buzbee says that “The attached audio reveals the nature of Sharpe’s relationship with Jane Doe immediately prior to the alleged assault.”
An attorney for Sharpe says the ESPNer denies all charges and says that the lawsuit “is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations, and it will not succeed.”
Attorney Lanny J. Davis added that Sharpe “categorically denies all allegations of coercion or misconduct — especially the gross lie of ‘rape’ — and will not submit to what he sees as an egregious attempt at blackmail.”
But Buzbee claims that Sharpe was abusive and controlling and that he won’t get away with his treatment of the woman despite his power and riches.
“Defendant Shannon Sharpe, a man who is accustomed to getting what he wants,” Buzbee said, “completely fails to understand this basic concept. After many months of manipulating and controlling Plaintiff — a woman more than thirty years younger than he — and repeatedly threatening to brutally choke and violently slap her, Sharpe refused to accept the answer no and raped Plaintiff, despite her sobbing and repeated screams of ‘no.’”
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