"Grown men being messy" - NBA fans react to alleged Matt Barnes' alleged revelation about Shannon Sharpe and Shaquille O'Neal
Last month, a leaked audio, allegedly of Matt Barnes, emerged saying that Shaquille O'Neal was willing to pay large amounts of money for dirt on Shannon Sharpe. The clip alleged that Shannon allegedly did "some s**t" to Shaq back in the day; however, no further details were given, other than that Shaq wanted the whole thing to be kept quiet.
Now, amid allegations that Sharpe sexually assaulted a woman he was in a relationship with, the leaked audio about Shaq wanting information on the NFL legend has resurfaced.
The beef between the two appears to stem from Sharpe disagreeing with O'Neal telling Nikola Jokic that he thought Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should've been the MVP last season. At the time, Sharpe disagreed, and the two traded barbs in the media.
According to the leaked audio, however, it sounds like the two had already been behind the scenes; fans just weren't aware of it.
The NBA community was quick to react to the resurfaced audio.
"Grown men being messy like 8th grade females," - One wrote.
"Messier than females," - Another added.
Others shared their thoughts as well, taking aim at both Shaquille O'Neal and Shannon Sharpe.
"Shannon makes money talking about other men every morning lmao. He needs to swallow that medicine now," - One wrote.
"I forgot about this….Shaq can be petty and vindictive but really……?" - Another added.
It's important to note that Barnes has said the clip is not legitimate, saying it is either AI or heavily doctored, but either way, he maintains that it is not genuine.
Looking back at the time Shaquille O'Neal unloaded on Shannon Sharpe on Instagram
When Shannon Sharpe disagreed with Shaquille O'Neal, saying that he believes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should've been the 2024 NBA MVP, O'Neal shared a scathing post on Instagram taking aim at the former NFL legend.
In it, O'Neal questioned Sharpe's place as an NFL legend, saying that he isn't a top-10 player, and the only way he stays relevant is by gossiping on his podcast.
At the time, Sharpe fired back on his own podcast. However, in an interview with PEOPLE just weeks later, Sharpe said he was ready to put the beef behind him and move on.
Despite that, it sounds as though O'Neal may not feel the same way.