Tony Buzbee, a notable Houston-based attorney, announced his law firm has filed a civil lawsuit against media personality and retired NFL star Shannon Sharpe.
Sharpe has responded with evidence that he says proves his innocence.
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In an Instagram post announcing the lawsuit, Buzbee claims he was representing a “brave young woman who alleges she was brutally sexually assaulted by former NFL player Shannon Sharpe on multiple occasions, the last incident occurring in January 2025.”
Buzbee goes on to allege a “pattern of intimidation, manipulation and abuse” committed by Sharpe against the complainant, which included claims that Sharpe repeatedly threatened to choke and slap the victim.
The case seeks $50 million in damages.
Sharpe responded with a post on X, which included a letter from his legal counsel, attorney Lanny J. Davis. The post quoted explicit text messages that he alleges the victim had sent him.
The included texts painted the picture of a consensual sexual relationship that included graphic imagery and pornographic fantasies, some of which teetered on the brink of sexual violence.
Davis also claimed that the complainant secretly recorded a sexual encounter without Sharpe’s consent, which is being intentionally taken out of context and used as blackmail.
Davis called Buzbee’s suit “a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars.”
Sharpe was a tight end in the NFL from 1990 to 2003, carving out a Hall-of-Fame career with the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens.
Following his playing days, he has become a notable figure in sports media, earning mainstream notoriety for his work on FS1’s "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," which aired from 2016 to 2024. He also hosts several podcasts, including “Club Shay Shay.”
Buzbee has gained national attention for his work with civil suits. Some of those cases include the representation of more than 20 women who brought sexual assault allegations against former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and 120 victims in the fatal 2021 Astroworld Festival crowd crush.
