- Shaquille O’Neal claimed he was compensated to look in an FTX ad and was by no means involved in the organization.
- In the advertisement, he mentioned he was “earning crypto available to anyone” and that he was “all in.”
- O’Neal was not too long ago named in a lawsuit accusing FTX of making use of famous people to trick traders.
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal stated he would not believe that in cryptocurrencies and was simply compensated to endorse the now-imploded trade FTX, per a Thursday report by CNBC’s Make It.
“A large amount of individuals feel I am associated, but I was just a paid out spokesperson for a industrial,” O’Neal informed the outlet.
The former basketball star, who’s now an angel trader and businessman, starred in an FTX business launched on June 2. In the ad, O’Neal reported he was enthusiastic to partner with the trade to “make crypto available to everybody.”
“I am all in. Are you?” O’Neal states in the ad.
—FTX (@FTX_Formal) June 1, 2022
O’Neal told CNBC that his friendship with fellow NBA good Stephen Curry was one particular of the motives he agreed to look in the FTX advertisement. Representatives for Curry did not straight away reply to Insider’s ask for for remark.
“Persons know I’m pretty, incredibly honest. I have almost nothing to cover,” O’Neal stated, for each CNBC. “If I was closely included, I would be at the forefront, saying, ‘Hey.’ But I was just a compensated spokesperson.”
When questioned by the outlet if he was bullish on crypto, O’Neal explained: “No.”
O’Neal is a single of several famous people named in a class-motion lawsuit that was submitted on November 15 in opposition to FTX, its significant-title endorsers, and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.
The criticism, submitted by trader Edwin Garrison, alleges that FTX made use of celebrities this kind of as O’Neal, Curry, and fashion product Gisele Bündchen to catch the attention of traders to a Ponzi scheme, per court docket paperwork viewed by Insider.
The crypto planet was shaken when FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, and as its new CEO John Ray claimed a litany of gross mismanagement procedures at the organization.
The SEC has charged Bankman-Fried with fraud and accused him of funneling billions of bucks of shopper resources into his own crypto hedge fund.
O’Neal warmed this year to the notion of endorsing crypto
Prior to showing up in the FTX industrial in June, O’Neal experienced publicly expressed skepticism towards cryptocurrencies. He advised CNBC in September 2021 that he failed to recognize crypto.
“So I will most likely stay absent from it until eventually I get a comprehensive comprehending of what it is,” he said, per the outlet.
He also instructed Front Business Sporting activities in June 2021 that he was cautious of crypto endorsement delivers.
“I generally get these providers that say: ‘Hey, we are going to give you $900,000 in crypto to mail out a tweet.’ So I have to say: ‘OK, if you might be going to give me a million bucks worth of crypto, then why do you want me?'” O’Neal advised the outlet. “A pair of my mates acquired caught up in a minor scam like that one particular time.”
On the other hand, he started out teasing the concept of getting associated in crypto-connected information in February, musing on Twitter that he could adjust his cope with to SHAQ.SOL — a reference to a cryptocurrency operate by blockchain system Solana.
The NBA corridor of fame member did not disclose how much cash he received for appearing in the June FTX industrial.
Reps for O’Neal did not promptly reply to Insider’s ask for for remark.
