Shaquille O’Neal takes matters into own hands & seemingly shuts down alleged Matt Barnes claim that Shaq sought dirt on Shannon Sharpe
On Thursday, Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal humorously poked fun at the recent Matt Barnes rumors on Instagram. This follows an audio clip, allegedly of Barnes, surfacing last month. In the clip, O'Neal is accused of digging up dirt on Shannon Sharpe, who is currently facing a civil lawsuit. In response to these claims, O'Neal created a hilarious skit on Instagram.
In the video, Shaq is seen mocking the claims that he was looking for information on Sharpe, as he captioned the post with a humorous message:
"Dam I got caught again I need that info I’m paying to dollars #yallsodumb#yallbelieveanything#shaqiswhite," he wrote jokingly.
The skit showed Shaq mocking the claims, as he was seen getting on a call where he demanded information about the Inside the NBA crew. Explaining he would pay "top dollars" for any information on the trio, the center 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?" he questioned further.
This exchange between Shaq and his alleged whistleblower was him dismissing any negative notion of him digging dirt on Shannon Sharpe.
The audio in question was leaked in March and allegedly featured Barnes, claiming that O'Neal was looking to dig up dirt on his media rival, Shannon Sharpe. He also claimed that Big Diesel was willing to pay a large sum to anyone willing to uncover negative information on the ESPN host.
However, Barnes has denied that the clip is legitimate, saying it was either AI or doctored, and threatening legal action over it.
Jason Whitlock gives his take on the leaked audio, claiming the tension between Shaquille O'Neal and Shannon Sharpe dates to the 1990s
Sports columnist Jason Whitlock gave his views on the controversy surrounding Shaquille O'Neal and Shannon Sharpe during his show on Thursday. The former ESPN reporter was seen playing the clip of the claims that O'Neal was looking for dirt on Sharpe:
"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," Barnes continues to say in the audio. (0:34 onwards)
After listening to the audio, Whitlock gave his take on the clip as he expressed that the differences between O'Neal and Sharpe stemmed from the 1990s:
"What I will say about Matt Barnes and this leaked information, I can remember going back 1998-1997, let me make sure my timeframe is accurate on that, but I was tight with Dereck Thomas," he said. "And I remember him telling me a bout a beef between Shaquille O'Neal and Shannon Sharpe," he continued. (4:07 onwards)
While not revealing many details about the conflict, it is evident that he believes there is more to the situation between Shaq and Sharpe than initially apparent.