Former NFL Pro Bowler and ex-ESPN and Fox Sports personality Marcellus Wiley has been accused of sexual assault by four individuals, including a former ESPN production assistant, according to Rolling Stone.
The alleged victims reportedly filed the lawsuit in New York in April, and they join three individuals who previously sued the 51-year-old for allegedly raping them in 1994 while he attended Columbia.
The first lawsuit emerged in 2023, followed by the latter two in 2025.
Wiley labeled the first lawsuit as “BS” in 2023, and his lawyers denied the allegations of rape and/or sexual assault in a 2024 court filing, according to Rolling Stone.
The previous accusations tie into these latest allegations since this quartet claimed that Columbia “hid the rapes by Wiley,” thus “enabling him to enjoy a reputation of safety, respect, and integrity, thereby endangering women” who later encountered him, according to Rolling Stone.
The latest allegations span a wide range.
Two of the accusers reportedly allege Wiley sexually assaulted them from 1995-99 in California, another claims Wiley began “grooming me” when she was 13 years old before a sexual encounter years later while he was in the NFL and the former ESPN production assistant alleged that Wiley tricked her into coming to his room under the pretense of a work meeting before sexually assaulting her.
The individual who alleges Wiley courted her at a young age said their interactions began during Wiley’s time with the Bills from 1997-99, according to Rolling Stone, beginning with a middle school visit.
“Wiley drove towards me, slowed down, and pulled over. He lowered the window, called me by name, and asked me to come over,” she wrote, per Rolling Stone.
The accuser further claims that Wiley gave her his email and eventually free tickets, plus an invitation to his Orchard Park, N.Y. residence.
Wiley allegedly called her “little momma” and would invite her over to help clean his CD collection, per the report, and routinely pampered her with gifts.
“Wiley frequently mentioned his sociology degree from Columbia University, which led me to believe he was respected and trustworthy. He gave me the same CDs to clean over and over,” she reportedly wrote.
“My whole identity was wrapped up in the belief that I would eventually marry Wiley,” she wrote.
She alleges that Wiley flew her to Dallas — he played for the Cowboys in 2004 — when she turned 18, and shouted at her before allegedly raping her.
“Marcellus Wiley raped me on my 18th birthday, after grooming me from the age of 13,” she claimed in her statement, according to Rolling Stone.
“If Columbia had properly pursued the complaints… I would never have been groomed and raped.”
The ex-ESPN staffer alleges that Wiley had her visit his hotel room in 2009 under false pretenses and he came out of the bathroom naked after she entered the room before assaulting her.
“He pushed me up against the windows of the room so hard I thought they would shatter,” she wrote, per the outlet. “I was petrified and believed I was going to be killed.”
The individual alleges Wiley forced her onto a bed and masturbated onto her despite her pleas to stop.
“The assault was devastating to me, and I will live with the effects to this day,” the woman wrote, according to Rolling Stone.
The two other alleged victims both claim Wiley raped them in California in the 1990s.
The first alleges that Wiley raped her at her mother’s Culver City, Calif. apartment in the late 1990s, stating he “overpowered me and raped me.”
“Afterward, I felt humiliated and shamed…so I never told anyone,” she wrote, per Rolling Stone.
The fourth woman claims Wiley raped her at a hotel in 1999 while she was a senior at USC, according to the report, and further alleged that she told LAPD and was later contacted by the police years later, although the investigation did not result in any charges.
These new allegations are part of what Rolling Stone described as a “push” by one of the first accusers to turn the lawsuit into a class action against both Wiley and Columbia, with a hearing set for May 12.
Lawyer Laura Gentile alleged that Columbia knew about the allegations but instead only placed him on “academic probation,” according to the outlet.
“By promoting, protecting, and elevating a sexual predator… Columbia University created a false image of Wiley… thereby enabling Wiley’s vicious propensity to rape/assault women,” Gentile wrote, per Rolling Stone.
Wiley earned All-American honors while playing for Columbia, emerging as one of the best players in program history before becoming a second-round pick with the Bills in 1997.
He played in the NFL from 1997-2006, spending time with the Bills, Chargers, Cowboys and Jaguars.
Wiley ultimately joined ESPN in 2007, according to his Fox Sports bio, before heading to FS1 in 2018. He left the network in 2022 and later began hosting his “More To It” podcast.
He is married to “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Annemarie Wiley.
