NFL Hall of Famer and popular media personality Shannon Sharpe is accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting a woman multiple times in Las Vegas.

Sharpe denied the allegations Monday via social media.

The woman, identified in the complaint only as Jane Doe, alleged in a lawsuit filed Sunday in District Court that Sharpe, with whom she previously had a consensual relationship, raped her at her Las Vegas apartment in October.

The lawsuit filed by Buzbee Law Firm said the woman was sexually assaulted by Sharpe again at her apartment on Jan. 2, after he visited her to drop off a Christmas and birthday present.

She is seeking at least $50 million in damages.

On Monday afternoon, Sharpe took to his X account to post a two-page letter from his attorney, Lanny J. Davis, refuting the claims.

The post included several explicit text messages allegedly sent by the plaintiff to Sharpe over the years, which Davis wrote was to show the relationship was consensual and sexual in nature.

The statement called the lawsuit “a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars. It is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations — and it will not succeed,” Davis wrote.

The letter also stated Sharpe denies all allegations “especially the gross lie of rape,” calling the case an “egregious blackmail attempt.”

The woman stated she met Sharpe, 56, at a Los Angeles gym in 2023 when she was 19. That led to a contentious consensual relationship, according to the lawsuit, which alleges Sharpe was aggressive and controlling.

The woman moved to end the relationship after Sharpe went live on Instagram while he was having sex with another woman, the complaint said.

Sharpe has said the viral incident was accidental, but the plaintiff questioned in the lawsuit whether he did it on purpose to create buzz around his name.

After she ignored Sharpe’s attempts to contact her following the Instagram incident, the lawsuit alleges, the former NFL star showed up on Oct. 6 at a Nevada gym where she was working out to confront her.

The incident led to the first of the alleged sexual assaults, the lawsuit claims, during which the plaintiff stated she repeatedly told Sharpe she did not want to have sex.

“A woman can say ‘yes’ to consensual sexual relations with a man ninety-nine times, but when she says ‘no’ even once, that ‘no’ means no,’” the lawsuit states. “Defendant Shannon Sharpe, a man who is accustomed to getting what he wants, 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.’”

After a 14-year NFL career, where he won three Super Bowls, Sharpe went into the media space. He is currently a personality on ESPN, a host of multiple popular podcasts, and he has millions of social media followers. The lawsuit also said Sharpe has a residence in Las Vegas.

The lawsuit was filed following reports last week that Sharpe was negotiating a new podcast deal that could be worth as much as $100 million, according to multiple reports.

The Metropolitan Police Department was not immediately available for comment.

Contact Mick Akers at [email protected] or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.