
USA Today via Reuters
July 17, 2024; North Augusta, S.C., USA; Former NBA athlete Matt Barnes sits on the sidelines during the Team Takeover and WhyNot game at the Nike Peach Jam at Riverview Park Activities Center. Team Takeover won 64-62. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Network

USA Today via Reuters
July 17, 2024; North Augusta, S.C., USA; Former NBA athlete Matt Barnes sits on the sidelines during the Team Takeover and WhyNot game at the Nike Peach Jam at Riverview Park Activities Center. Team Takeover won 64-62. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Network
Last year, Shaquille O’Neal and Shannon Sharpe dominated the headlines with their viral jabs at each other. The feud also featured a 2-minute 51-second diss track from the Lakers legend. Post that, the NFL icon said he was “ready to move on,” and since then, there have been no issues aired between the two in public. But speculation about the 4x NBA champion’s stance resurfaced after an alleged voice note from Matt Barnes. But the former champion claimed no part in it and even threatened with a legal battle!
“Y’all keep playin and ima sue you for this s—. This AI doctored auto. Y’all some clowns.” In another message, he added, “Y’all post me again w some bullsh-t & ima sue you.” The description of the post claimed Matt Barnes’ message to Tasha K “threatening to sue—saying the clip was AI.” “Haha…you should know I have no issue admitting when I’ve fucked up..”
The former Warriors star continued, “What’s ur name since you speak for the company? I’ll have the letter from my lawyer addressed to you.” But another alleged message followed.
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Before this post, the celebrity Insider made a startling revelation about the former champion’s alleged voice note, where the 45-year-old spoke about Shaquille O’Neal being ready to pay out big money for any information about Shannon Sharpe. “I don’t know he on this kinda time. But was in the group chat the other day or actually just yesterday and um Shaq said he is paying top dollar on any information about your boy…But Shaq is throw large sum of money around, so I want to put that out there.”
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Later, Matt Barnes also alleged that he said to “keep his name quiet,” referring to Shaquille O’Neal. Plus, he also gave details that it had to do something with the previous beef with the NFL icon turned ESPN analyst. The situation continues to unfold with multiple layers!
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Another thing of note is that earlier this year, Barnes already had some beef with the controversial blogger for spreading misinformation. That issue was personal to him.
What’s your perspective on:
Is Shaq's alleged bounty on Shannon Sharpe a sign of unresolved beef or just media hype?
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Not the first time Matt Barnes has messaged Tasha K
Back in January, “Zany,” a 27-year-old New York native residing in LA, told Tasha that Matt Barnes had sent her a DM. According to Zany, Barnes is cheating on Sims during their relationship. The NBA legend-turned-podcaster is currently engaged to Anansa Sims, and they are parents to two sons (both have older children from previous relationships, too).
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It came with screen grabs of Barnes’ messages to prove it. “If y’all gonna continue to post these old a– messages from 2023… at least get the women right. Y’all have put up the wrong chick twice…” Barnes said in his messages. While Matt Barnes didn’t exactly deny communicating with the woman making the allegations, he’s raised accusations of his own. He claims this person has been using those messages to extort him for over a year.
With no prior media coverage, the allegations resurfaced in 2025 via Tasha K. The former champion has had past interactions with the controversial blogger, and the alleged audio leak has added another layer to their history. As of now, none of the three have publicly addressed the allegations in detail, leaving much of the situation unclear. Whether any further statements will be made remains to be seen.
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"Is Shaq's alleged bounty on Shannon Sharpe a sign of unresolved beef or just media hype?"