Shaquille O’Neal Reportedly in Hiding to Avoid Being Served in FTX Lawsuit

Last November, FTX, the second-largest player in the crypto space behind Binance, filed for bankruptcy, crippling the cryptocurrency landscape.

TNT announcer and NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal was among those named in a lawsuit in December pertaining to his involvement with FTX. Now, he is reportedly trying to avoid being served.

According to the New York Post, the Papa John pitchman is evading being served the legal papers for a class-action lawsuit filed against him and other celebrities like basketball star Stephen Curry and football legend Tom Brady who endorsed the failed cryptocurrency company.

The lawsuit was filed FTX investor Edwin Garrison, who says his crypto account went bankrupt after “being exposed to” the endorsements by the celebrities.

Attorneys for Garrison claim that out of all the celebrities in the lawsuit, O’Neal is the only one who has avoided the lawyers.

“It is really astonishing the measures he has gone to avoid service of our complaint,” attorney Adam Moskowitz told Forbes. “The irony is that the admitted facts against him are probably the worst against any of the FTX Brand Ambassadors.”

Garrison’s attorneys singled O’Neal when they wrote in an email to the defendants: “We have spent great efforts (4 different service companies) trying to get you all served with our Complaint. Only one, however, has chosen to evade service, in order to draw out these proceedings or to otherwise attempt to avoid answering for these allegations.”

O’Neal previously stated that he was only a celebrity being used for an ad.

“I have nothing to hide. If I was heavily involved, I would be at the forefront saying, ‘Hey.’ But I was just a paid spokesperson, O’Neal said in December 2022.

O’Neal told CNBC Make It that his friendship with Curry is a big reason he agreed to participate in FTX’s advertising.