A former girlfriend of NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe has alleged that their ten-year relationship ended with her filing a restraining order after the Hall of Famer raped her and then threatened to ruin her career if she ever went public with the accusations, a previously undisclosed 2023 lawsuit reveals.
Michele Bundy Evans, now 52, filed a $4 million defamation lawsuit against Sharpe, accusing him of publicly discussing their legal battle on television, according to court records obtained by The US Sun. This came after it was revealed that Evans had filed a restraining order against Sharpe, alleging sexual assault and stalking in connection with a September 2010 incident.
Raped His Girlfriend Also
The bombshell revelations come just days after a separate woman, referred to as Jane Doe in court documents, filed a $50 million civil suit accusing Sharpe of rape. However, the 56-year-old former NFL star has vehemently denied the allegations.
In her defamation suit, Evans, claimed that during an argument, the football legend forced his decade-old girlfriend to her knees and sexually assaulted her before raping her.
Evans said that she took legal help after the former Denver Broncos star allegedly threatened to "ruin" her if she ever spoke publicly about the traumatic incident, according to the lawsuit. CBS reported that the restraining order was withdrawn shortly after it was filed, with Evans alleging she and her daughter faced harassment at home because of her decision to take legal action against Sharpe.
Sharpe's attorneys refuted Evans' lawsuit, which is pending, calling it "nonsense." "Michelle Evans' claims are ridiculous and completely without merit," Vincent Morris, Sharpe's attorney, told The New York Post on Thursday night.
"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."
Misusing His Influence
Evans, who was arrested in 2017 for a domestic dispute involving her reportedly abusive husband, has expressed concern for the woman who recently accused Sharpe. The accuser filed her lawsuit on Sunday in a Nevada state court.
"I want people to understand what Shannon did to this woman, by doxing her, by putting out her name, by putting out her OnlyFans account," she told the Sun.
"That was horrifying, because things are going to happen to her because of that. I still get it to this day, and I went through a lot of things, as you can see in the complaint, that actually even stemmed from it."
The latest lawsuit accuses Sharpe of assault, sexual assault, battery, sexual battery, and deliberately causing emotional distress during what is described as a "tumultuous consensual relationship" that lasted nearly two years with a woman over three decades his junior.
The alleged victim's attorneys released two audio clips that capture Sharpe threatening to "choke" her.
Sharpe's legal team has refuted the allegations, claiming that the relationship was consensual and involved elements of "role-playing" and "fantasy."
The ESPN First Take personality, who is also accused of repeatedly threatening to kill the woman and sexually assaulting her in both 2024 and 2025, announced on Thursday that he would be taking a temporary leave of absence from the network.
"My statement is found here and this is the truth. The relationship in question was 100% consensual," Sharpe wrote in a statement posted to social media.
