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Former Pro Bowler and sportscaster Marcellus Wiley weighed in on Shannon Sharpe's recent legal troubles after a former girlfriend sued him for $50 million for alleged s*xual assault and battery. According to court documents filed in Nevada on April 20, the accuser, referred to as Jane Doe (but publicly named Gabriella Zuniga), alleged that Sharpe acted aggressively during their nearly two-year relationship, claiming that he r*ped her.
Trigger Warning: The latter part of this article includes graphic descriptions of sexual abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
During his April 27 episode of Dat Dude TV, Wiley discussed the lawsuit Sharpe faced, particularly its timing with Sharpe's reported $100 million deal. For the unversed, on April 18, Front Office Sports reported that Sharpe was negotiating a $100 million deal after his current contract with Colin Cowherd’s The Volume network ended.
The new deal would reportedly encompass all projects under the Shay Shay network, in addition to Shannon Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast. However, two days after the news about the reported deal went public, Sharpe's alleged victim filed a lawsuit against him through her attorney, Tony Buzbee, in Nevada.
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Marcellus Wiley said the timing of the reported deal and the lawsuit made his "spidey senses go off.” He noted that the alleged victim filing the lawsuit on a Sunday seemed strange, saying:
"Friday, it [Sharpe's potential deal] was reported, and on Sunday, she filed [the lawsuit]. Now, I can get a work week, Monday through Friday, then you gonna file on a Sunday? What happened between Friday and Sunday?
Exploring Marcellus Wiley's opinions about the Shannon Sharpe lawsuit
Marcellus Wiley delved into his views on Shannon Sharpe's recent s*xual assault and battery lawsuit concerning his reported $100 million deal in the latest episode of Dat Dude TV.
He suggested that the news of the reported deal was likely leaked ahead of the lawsuit to create the impression that the alleged victim and Buzbee were extorting Sharpe. He added that Sharpe and his lawyers attempted to frame this as a "cover" to "inflate his worth."
Wiley also mentioned another possible scenario: that someone purposely leaked details of the negotiations and his settlement offer with the alleged victim to blow up his potential deal.
"So, this extortion angle that Shannon and his lawyers have chosen, could either be A) cover thus inflate his worth before this hits, because we know it's gonna hit. Negotiations have broken down a settlement. Or B) worse, probably. Someone with knowledge of these negotiations and the settlement offers leaked it to the public to blow up Shannon Sharpe's potential deal," he said.
Marcellus Wiley expressed that something felt off about the entire situation, suggesting that either Shannon Sharpe "got played" by the alleged victim or the public was "getting played."
“Something just ain’t right. With the timing of the settlement offer, the allegations, and even the temporary leave of absence… Either Shannon got played… Or, we, us, you and me, are getting played as well.”
Exploring the lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe
According to court documents, Jane Doe claimed she met Shannon Sharpe at a gym in LA in 2023 when she was allegedly 19. The two entered a relationship; however, Doe claimed Sharpe was “manipulating and controlling” her when they were dating.
The lawsuit also claimed Shannon Sharpe “violently s*xually assaulted and an*lly r*ped Plaintiff,” in October 2024. He allegedly r*ped her again in January 2025, “blatantly ignoring her requests for him to stop.”
“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 r*ped Plaintiff, despite her sobbing and repeated screams of ‘no.’”
According to CNN, Lanny J. Davis, Sharpe's attorney, claimed his relationship with the accuser was consensual and “s*xual in nature — and, in many cases, initiated by her with specific and graphic requests.”
The former NFL star has also denied the allegations leveled against him in the lawsuit, accusing Tony Buzbee of orchestrating a "shakedown" for financial gain in a statement on Instagram on April 22. He reiterated that his relationship with the alleged victim was "consensual," and his legal team released intimate text messages purportedly exchanged between the two.
Following this, Tony Buzbee has released two voice recordings that are allegedly of Sharpe and the accuser. In one recording, a voice, believed to be Sharpe, can be heard telling the woman,
"If you say that one more time, I'm going to f**king choke the s**t out of you when I see you."
In other news, Shannon Sharpe took to X on April 24 to announce his temporary leave of absence from ESPN to devote time "to my family and to responding to and dealing with these false and disruptive allegations." Sharpe has been a panelist on the sports network's First Take since 2023.
