Shaquille O’Neal took matters into his own hands after an audio clip went viral on social media in which former NBA player Matt Barnes claimed that Shaq was intentionally looking to dig up dirt on Shannon Sharpe. Sharpe is currently facing a civil lawsuit on sexual assault allegations, with the alleged victim seeking damages of $50 million. Shannon Sharpe has denied all the claims, per his lawyer.
This is the likely reason why Shaq does not want to be associated with Shannon Sharpe’s name in any form at the moment. Nonetheless, he took to social media and shot back at the viral audio clip, which claimed that he had problems with Sharpe and was willing to pay “top dollar” to whoever gave him dirt on Sharpe.
In response, Shaq played out a hilarious skit in a video and said,“Hey, this is Shaq. I am paying top dollars for information. You know where Charles Barkley is at?” he said. “You know where Kenny the Jet Smith at?”. Further, he captioned the post, “Dam I got caught again I need that info I’m paying to dollars #yallsodumb #yallbelieveanything #shaqiswhite”.
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What Did The Audio Clip Claim About Shaquille O’Neal?
The controversial audio here initially was leaked in March but has now come to prominence amid the Shannon Sharpe controversy. “Shaq said he’s paying top dollars for any information on our boy [Shannon Sharpe],” he is heard saying. “And he said, ‘Please, please, please, keep it quiet.’ He said that Shannon did some sh*t bad to him a while back and he’s been off on him. So, that’s why he’s doing this,” , he further added.
Last month a leaked audio clip surfaced of former NBA player Matt Barnes claiming that Shaquille O’Neal was willing to pay large sums of money to uncover negative information on his rival, Shannon Sharpe. In the clip, Barnes can be heard saying, “Shaq is doing it because Shannon… pic.twitter.com/van1tR5hJc
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Shaquille O’Neal and Shannon Sharpe’s feud goes back to the 1990s, according to Ex-ESPN reporter Jason Whitlock. Last year, their feud came out in public after a disagreement over who should be the NBA MVP. Matt Barnes claimed this audio was doctored by AI and threatened legal action on several people who made this audio go viral.
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Diving Into Shaquille O’Neal’s Relationship With Shannon Sharpe And Matt Barnes
Last year, Shaquille O’Neal and Shannon Sharpe’s feud went public after their disagreement over who deserved to be the NBA MVP. Sharpe took it personally when Shaq said Jokic is not as dominant as he was in his prime. Sharpe went on to say he (Shaq) is envious of the fact that his name is not included in the greatest basketball players of all time.
To this O’Neal responded, “Shows how smart you are and how you say anything to get clicks. So here’s some click bait for you,” O’Neal further suggested that Sharpe “can’t speak on” him because he isn’t “ranked in the top ten” in his “profession.” O’Neal additionally told Sharpe, “Don’t forget I know what you did to get where you at, me jealous, sounds like you jealous.”
Shannon Sharpe publicly concluded this beef and said he has no issues with Shaq. He told People.com in his concluding remarks, “I mean, I don’t have no problem with Shaq, He said what he said, I’m ready to move on”. Moreover, just a month after the feud , Sharpe even ranked Shaq as the third greatest center of all time.
While Matt Barnes has claimed this audio is doctored, O’Neal has confirmed there is no merit to any information in the clip. Presently, Shannon Sharpe has taken a break from ESPN, while some speculate that he may not return. Whether or not Shaq actually looked for dirt on Sharpe remains a mystery, but it is clear that Shaq wants to distance himself from this situation by slamming it before it gets blown out of proportion.
