Seven days from Michigan State football's 2026 opening kickoff against Toledo, the Spartans find one of their projected starters under a sexual assault investigation.
First reported by Connor Earegood of The Detroit News, sixth-year offensive lineman Nick Sharpe faces allegations over a July 17 incident in his apartment in East Lansing.
The police report obtained by The Detroit News lists the alleged offense as third-degree criminal sexual conduct. The woman, whose name was redacted from the report, is a resident of Dallas, Texas, who flew to Detroit and took an Uber to Sharpe's apartment on July 17.
MSU Athletics Spokesperson Matt Larson told The State News the school will be cooperative with law enforcement in its investigation.
“Michigan State University and Spartan Athletics are aware of the allegations involving a member of our football program," Larson said. "We take these matters seriously and are committed to fully cooperating with law enforcement and university officials as they conduct their respective processes. Because this is an ongoing matter, we will not comment further at this time.”
Per the police report, the woman told police the two began kissing once she got to his room, and Sharpe touched her genitals despite her asking him to stop. She said he only stopped once she began performing oral sex on him, something she told police she agreed to out of nervousness. She said she spent the night in his bed while he slept on the couch, telling her he "could not control himself." She flew back to Dallas the next day.
Police first made contact with Sharpe on July 21, a day after the woman filed her report. Officers noted Sharpe seemed to understand why they were there and agreed to answer their questions.
Sharpe, a transfer from South Carolina, gave a different account to police, saying he was watching a movie when the woman came into his room, changed into sleepwear and got into bed with him, and that she consented to and initiated the sexual contact herself, starting with oral sex. He said he asked her to "stop and slow down." He also said he'd asked her permission to record and that she'd agreed, and that when she asked him to delete the video the next day, he did. He told officers he slept on the couch because he's kept himself abstinent since November and wanted to avoid temptation.
Investigators seized two iPhones from the apartment, along with towels both parties said they'd used to clean up afterward. A DNA collection taken from Sharpe on July 21 turned out to be unusable, prompting officers to return to his apartment Aug. 4 for another swab. Sharpe denied any further contact with the woman and told police he was stunned by the allegations, maintaining the encounter was consensual.
According to The Detroit News, Sharpe said he has since blocked the woman on social media, and in the aftermath, she began following and messaging his teammates while posting about him on her Instagram stories. Two of his teammates, redshirt sophomore defensive back Tyran Chappell and redshirt junior offensive lineman Robert Wright Jr., passed screenshots of those messages along to investigators.
The Michigan State Police Forensic Laboratory received DNA evidence for testing Aug. 5, including a sexual assault evidence kit the woman had collected at a hospital in Dallas and shipped to Michigan. The department moved the case to its detective bureau Aug. 17 as it awaits results. No charges against Sharpe had appeared in Michigan's online court system as of Aug. 28.
Sharpe transferred to MSU back in January as an experienced offensive lineman with 33 games in his career. He played his first four seasons at Wake Forest, where he was coached by current MSU offensive line coach Nick Tabacca, before joining South Carolina last season.
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