Dak Prescott Files Defamation & Extortion Suit

Dallas Cowboys star Quarterback Rayne Dakota Prescott filed a defamation and extortion lawsuit against Victoria Shores and her attorneys on Monday, March 11, 2024. The lawsuit stems from a letter sent to Dak Prescott’s legal counsel via Mrs. Shores’s attorneys.¹ The letter, dated January 16, 2024, states that Dak Prescott sexually assaulted Mrs. Shores back in February of 2017 and that to prevent any further litigation, both civilly and criminally, against Prescott, Mrs. Shores demanded $100,000.000 in compensation due to the alleged actions of Prescott.²

Since Dak Prescott’s attorneys received the letter, very little information has been made available to the public regarding its validity or Prescott’s intentions of paying a large amount of damages. That changed Monday when Dak filed a lawsuit in the 471st District Court in Collin County, Texas.  ³

The lawsuit alleges that Mrs. Shores and her legal team are attempting to extort and defame Prescott in an attempt at a cash grab. In the complaint, Dak states, “This case arises out of a blatant attempt by [the woman] and her legal team to extort plaintiff Dak Prescott by weaponizing patently false, yet heinous sexual assault allegations with no basis in reality.”⁴

In response to this lawsuit, Mrs. Shores’ attorneys, Bethel, and Yoel Zehaie, have stated that this lawsuit is an attempt by Prescott and his legal team to bully and intimidate them. “Dak and his lawyers are trying to be bullies and play hardball and victim blame” and even went as far as to say, “Dak is a liar and a rapist.”⁵  

Despite these strong allegations from both sides, neither has proven the validity of these claims. However, that may change soon enough. As of yesterday, March 13, 2024, the Dallas News has reported that the Dallas Police Department is going to investigate the sexual assault accusation made against Prescott.⁶ Now, while a potential criminal investigation and a civil lawsuit are independent of one another, an investigation into the matter would clarify the situation. In the same article, the Dallas Police Department was reported saying that they would investigate Prescott’s claims of extortion against Mrs. Shores and her attorneys.  ⁷

While Dak has not publicly commented about the situation or what he wants to receive due to the lawsuit, his attorney stated that the Dallas Cowboys star quarterback is asking the court for $1,000,000.00. He would donate to the Joyful Heart Foundation. This organization supports survivors of sexual assault.⁸

This story is still ongoing and will undoubtedly involve a lengthy investigation, as Mrs. Shores did not initially file a police report in 2017. Thus, the situation has the potential to last several months, leading into the start of the next NFL season, in which Prescott could face a potentially whole new litany of problems if information comes out that he did commit these actions. Under the NFL’s CBA, a player can be disciplined for off-the-field conduct even if he is not found guilty in a criminal proceeding.

1. Dak Prescott alleged sexual assault: QB files extortion lawsuit | wfaa.com ↩︎
2. Cowboys’ Dak Prescott files lawsuit accusing woman of making false sexual-assault claim to try to extort $100M – CBSSports.com ↩︎
3. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott sues woman over alleged $100 million extortion plan (nbcnews.com) ↩︎
4. Dak Prescott files lawsuit accusing woman of $100 million extortion scheme – The Washington Post ↩︎
5. Id. ↩︎
6.  Dallas police investigating claims of alleged sexual assault involving Dak Prescott (dallasnews.com) ↩︎
7. Id. ↩︎
8. Dak Prescott sues woman accusing him of sexual assault – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (nbcdfw.com) ↩︎