After Shannon Sharpe was rocked by a $50-million US rape lawsuit earlier this week, a second woman has come forward, detailing shocking similarities between her own 15-year legal battle with the NFL great and the new accusations.
Michele Evans, a former reporter who had covered the Broncos while Sharpe was a member of the team, spoke out against the ESPN commentator in an interview with the Daily Mail.
“I was triggered, totally triggered,” Michele Evans said of Sharpe’s denials. “I believed her right away. How could I not after going through what I’ve been through?”
Sharpe, an NFL hall of famer turned popular media personality, was accused earlier this week of rape and sexual assault by an ex-girlfriend earlier this week, which he has vociferously denied.
The complaint filed by Jane Doe in Nevada on Sunday makes passing reference to Evans’ own 2023 defamation lawsuit against Sharpe.
After the filing became public knowledge, Sharpe and his legal team denied the claims while also naming Jane Doe and identifying her as an OnlyFans model despite the objections of her legal team.
Evans explained in her interview to Daily Mail — as well as several New York State court filings — that she sees herself as a victim of retaliation by Sharpe.
Evans claims she and the Denver Broncos tight end became romantically involved in the early 2000s while she was working as a local TV reporter covering the team, she told the outlet.
The relationship came to an end in 2010 when he allegedly raped her orally and vaginally, according to legal filings. She filed a protective order in Georgia and since then, Evans told Daily Mail, Sharpe has sought revenge against her.
“He told me that he would use everybody he knows to destroy me,” Evans said. “That’s basically what he did.”
Evans ultimately dropped the order in what she described as an attempt to end the doxing she believed was endangering both her and her daughter, the outlet reported.
A Sharpe spokesman told the outlet that her “claims are ridiculous and completely without merit.”
Evans now sees Sharpe’s latest accuser in a similar predicament.
“I am disturbed how Shannon doxed (Doe) because that’s exactly what I said in my lawsuit is that he doxed me and that was one of the reasons why I dropped the protective order that I had against him,” Evans said.
“Then releasing the name of her OnlyFans so people could find that and find her Instagram, it was exact thing he was attempting to do with me. That’s why I say it’s triggering.”
Evans didn’t filed rape charges, but she did sue Sharpe in 2023, accusing him of making defamatory and erroneous statements about her in the media.
Her original complaint, which was filed in New York, shares several disturbing similarities with Doe’s Nevada lawsuit — including specific details of the alleged sexual assaults.
WARNING: Graphic sexual assault descriptions
Before allegedly raping Doe last year, Sharpe is accused of telling her: “I’m going to punish this a******. I’m going to make it so no man will want you again.”
Evans described a similar statement in her 2023 complaint.
“Shannon’s coercion escalated as he maneuvered me onto the bed and achieved non-consensual vaginal penetration, all the while proclaiming his intent to ‘Make it so no other man would want me.’”
“I want to emphasize the harm he’s causing this woman by doxing her and putting her name out and her OnlyFans out there,” she said. “It can lead to violence by somebody who read what was said about her, so I think that is very, very troubling.”
The Daily Mail contacted Sharpe’s legal team for comment on Evans’ accusations.
“Michele Evans’ claims are ridiculous and completely without merit,” a spokesman told the outlet. “She could not find a lawyer to take her case and if you read her complaint you’ll see it is filled with nonsense. Shannon has had no contact with her for many years and we understand that she is still on probation after serving three years in prison.”
Evans served 18 months at New York’s Rikers Island as well as another 14 months in state prisons after she was charged with assault following an incident with her husband in 2017 during which he jumped on the hood of her car as she attempted to flee an abusive situation, injuring him in the process.
She accepted a plea deal and later was sentenced under the Domestic Violence Survivors Act.
Sharpe issued a statement on Thursday saying that he will be stepping back from his duties at ESPN for the time being to spend time with his family and “dealing with these false and disruptive allegations.”
“At this juncture I am electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties,” the statement said.
“I will be devoting this time to my family and responding and dealing with these false and disruptive allegations set against me. I plan to return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason.
“I sincerely appreciate the overwhelming and ongoing support I have received from my family, fans, friends and colleagues.”