Shaquille O’Neal, a legend in the NBA, is facing a lawsuit for unpaid wages owed to a former employee of his production business who contributed to the Oscar-winning documentary “Queen of Basketball.”
A ‘longtime acquaintance’ of basketball great Shaquille O’Neal is suing him for allegedly breaching financial commitments.
Among his many successful teams, O’Neal won four NBA championships and was named MVP during his career, which spanned the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Orlando Magic. He is now 51 years old.
The Hall of Famer, who now provides NBA analysis for TNT, is embroiled in a lawsuit involving allegations of fraud against him and his firm, Jersey Legends Productions.
Donnie Wilson has accused O’Neal, Jersey Legend Productions, and Michael Parris, co-founder of the production firm, of violating the labor code and breaching the contract in a suit that he filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
There are additional allegations that they broke a ‘legally binding’ verbal commitment.In a forceful statement, Wilson’s lawyer Ron Zambrano announced the case, bringing up allegations that O’Neal knowingly spent months dodging service in the FTX class-action lawsuit.
Attempting to put some distance between himself and the crypto giant, O’Neal said he was merely a “paid spokesperson” at the time.
‘Shaquille O’Neal certainly may come across as everyone’s greatest friend, just a big joyful person — presumably until he owes you money,’ Zambrano said.
He has been evading his financial responsibilities to Mr. Wilson in much the same way that he evaded attorneys who attempted to serve him in a class-action lawsuit about the insolvent FTX cryptocurrency exchange and his support of the company for months.
It’s disheartening to see such behavior from a celebrity of his caliber.According to the news release from Zambrano, Wilson was O’Neal’s community relations director for a decade, from 1996 to 2006.
He stepped down from his position to pursue a career in playwriting, and in 2019, Parris brought Wilson on board as a member of their production business.
Wilson rose up the ranks to become head of creative despite her misgivings about Parris’s commitment.
Supposedly, Parris then verbally agreed to make Wilson an official partner in the business with an 18% ownership interest.
While playing the part, Wilson helped produce the Academy Award–winning documentary “Queen of Basketball” and the animated short “HeadNoise,” the latter of which included O’Neal as the narrator.
While Wilson did receive an executive producer credit for “Queen of Basketball,” he asserts that he was never paid for his efforts on Jersey Legends.
‘Queen of Basketball’ chronicles the life of Lusia ‘Lucy’ Harris-Stewart, who became the first female to be drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA), won three national championships while playing college in rural Mississippi, and made history as the first ball scored by a woman in Olympic history.
“[Wilson] collaborated with O’Neal throughout the creation of these works,” the complaint states.
O’Neal was aware that Plaintiff was not receiving payment or official acknowledgement of his ownership stake in Jersey Legends, according to what Parris informed Wilson.According to Parris, O’Neal was aware that Wilson would eventually be made a part owner and taken care of.
Reportedly, in 2022, Wilson attempted to have O’Neal and Paris sign a deal, but they declined.
Even though the production company was sold last year, Wilson has yet to earn even a single penny.
“This whole ordeal has left me reeling,” Wilson stated in a statement. Because of this betrayal, I no longer believe in justice.
What hurts the most is not the financial side, but the personal one.
Because Michael Parris’ family and Shaquille’s loved ones consider each other family, this betrayal is very hurtful. For some reason, I’m really let down and disappointed.
O’Neal has been contacted by DailyMail.com on a possible comment.