Tony Buzbee, the lawyer representing the woman accusing ESPN analyst and NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe of rape, will not be releasing video of the two having sex, calling it key evidence in the case.
“The only reason you know about the existence of a video recording is that Mr. Sharpe specifically referenced it in his bullsh*t statement,” Buzbee told TMZ Sports. “The contents of the video were shared during the mediation process with Sharpe’s attorneys. Again, Sharpe and his team disclosed that, not us. Sharpe himself was offered on more than one occasion to view it himself. He declined. We’ve never made any claims or threats about it and won’t do so.
“And no,” he added, “we won’t be ‘releasing’ the video as it is key evidence in the case and will be treated as such.”Sharpe, who mentioned the video in his own video statement days after the rape allegations were made public, claims the footage is “a 30-second clip of a sex tape that tries to make me look guilty and play into every stereotype you could possibly imagine.”
Sharpe claims the unedited video is 10 minutes long and asked Buzbee to air the full, unedited version.
The former Bronco and, up until recently, co-host of ESPN’s popular morning show First Take, faces a $50 million lawsuit from the woman with whom he had an apparent two-year relationship. She is accusing the former NFL star of multiple incidents of rape in the months before their relationship ended.
Sharpe has decried the allegations as “shakedown” and vowed to fight them. He has stepped away from his duties while fighting the charges.