Attorneys for the woman accusing Shannon Sharpe of rape released a recording of a conversation they say she had with the NFL Hall of Famer, in which he apparently threatened to choke her.
In the recording, a woman whom the attorneys identified as the plaintiff suing Sharpe under the name Jane Doe, tells Sharpe not to “manipulate” her.
“If you say that word one more time, I’m gonna f—— choke the s— out of you when I see you,” a voice resembling Sharpe’s says in the recording obtained by PEOPLE.
After a pause, the woman says she doesn’t want to be choked.
“Yes, you do,” he says. “I don’t think you have a choice in the.”
The plaintiff sued Sharpe, with whom she had been engaged in a nearly two-year relationship, in Nevada, accusing him of raping her on two different occasions.
In a statement, Sharpe’s attorney Lanny Davis described the lawsuit as a shakedown attempt and claimed that the relationship between the accuser and Sharpe was consensual. The statement said Sharpe “categorically” denied the allegations and called the rape accusation a “gross lie.”
Davis’ statement also named the plaintiff and claimed the accuser sent sexually explicit text messages that showed a “broader pattern of graphic, sexual communications initiated by” the woman.
“The evidence paints a clear picture: this was a consensual, adult relationship that included role-playing, sexual language, and fantasy scenarios,” Davis’ statement claimed.
The plaintiff’s attorney Tony Buzbee, a high-profile lawyer who is representing several of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ accusers, subsequently pushed back on Davis’ claims in a new statement and shared the recording.
“The contents of this clip are certainly not sexual,” Buzbee said in the statement. “They are not playful. They are instead disturbing, aggressive, and dangerous.”
“Instead of owning up to his actions, Sharpe has chosen to mislead his lawyers and the public, and double down — this time by doxing Jane Doe, and attempting to humiliate into silence this woman who is 30 years his junior,” the statement continued.
Davis, Sharpe’s attorney, has not responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the recording.
In a video posted to social media, Sharpe described the lawsuit as a “shakedown,” claiming, “This is all being orchestrated by Tony Buzbee,” whom Sharpe accused of “targeting Black men.”
Sharpe says he is intends to sue both Buzbee and the accuser for defamation. “My career is all about real talk and honesty,” he says in the video.
Sharpe, who spent his NFL career with the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens, became a noted sports media personality following his retirement and started the popular podcast Club Shay Shay, on which he hosts conversations with famous guests.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
