Shaq mocks being named in lawsuit over FTX collapse: ‘I don’t understand crypto’

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After the collapse of FTX, investors filed a lawsuit targeting several notable athletes who were spokespersons for the crypto exchange.

One of them was NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. The Basketball Hall of Fame has appeared in several FTX commercials.

The lawsuit describes O’Neal, Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, David Ortiz, Shohei Ohtani, Trevor Lawrence and others as “parties who controlled, promoted, aided and actively participated in FTX Trading and FTX US transactions.”

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Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal speaks during a press conference in McDonough, Ga. on Jan. 22, 2021. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

But O’Neal doesn’t seem worried.

“A lot of people think I’m involved, but I was just a paid spokesperson for an ad,” he told CNBC Make It. “I don’t understand it, so I’ll probably stay away until I fully understand what it is.”

NBA great Shaquille O’Neal during NBA All-Star Saturday Night at the United Center in Chicago on Feb. 15, 2020. (Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports)

O’Neal added that he thought crypto was “too good to be true.”

The lawsuit seeks to hold the athletes “liable for the many billions of dollars in damages they caused to the plaintiff and the classes and to force the defendants to repair them.”

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“The deceptive and faulty FTX platform was based on misrepresentation and misleading behavior,” the lawsuit states. “Although numerous incriminating emails and text messages from FTX have already been destroyed, we have located them and they show how FTX’s fraudulent scheme was designed to take advantage of unsophisticated investors across the country, who use mobile apps to make their investments. As a result, American consumers have collectively suffered more than $11 billion in damages.”

Former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal attends the Shaq Courts Unveiling at the Doolittle Complex courtesy of Icy Hot and the Shaquille O’Neal Foundation in partnership with the City of Las Vegas on October 23, 2021 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Icy Hot)

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was recently arrested for fraud and money laundering.

Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.

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