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Shaq Sues Former IT Guy Who Leaked All Those Embarrassing Emails

Remember a while back, when stories were leaking about email correspondences involving Shaquille O’Neal, in which Shaq tried to get set up with Rihanna, said some very explicit things to a model, and worried about what TMZ might say about him. These emails were leaked by a former IT employee of Shaq’s, Shawn Darling, who has sued the future Hall of Famer for millions of dollars in the past, while saying things like, “I will ruin Shaq.”

Well, you might not believe it, but it appears Shaq isn’t too happy about his relationship with Darling himself, and is now suing him, claiming invasion of privacy:

The lawsuit was filed against Shawn Darling in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. It seeks an injunction barring Darling from providing O’Neal’s emails to anyone, unspecified damages and the return of all O’Neal’s private electronic messages.

It had to be only a matter of time before this would happen. The emails Darling leaked were just too embarrassing not to warrant some kind of legal response – and it’s not like Darling has a squeaky-clean reputation himself. We’re not sure what kind of case Shaq would have, but this won’t be the first time Darling finds himself accused of shady doings. What’s come out so far about the relationship between these two guys is ugly, and it seems like the only way to resolve it once and for all is for it to get uglier.

Shaq has to be hoping this is all resolved quickly. Not only does he have that TV analyst job on the table whenever the NBA starts happening again – he’s also got that book coming out, that will potentially distract people from all the less savory stories currently surrounding him. (Hey, we’ve been talking about the book ourselves.) The suit’s claim that the leaked emails “damaged [Shaq's] reputation” is correct, and if there’s much more like what’s currently out there…well, it’s a good thing Shaq got this TV deal. To have any chance of keeping his image as a big, friendly, fun-loving guy, an unfun legal battle awaits.

Getty photo, by Slaven Vlasic