Shaquille O’Neal has a long and extensive history as a corporate pitchman. The Big Diesel has endorsed everything from pizza to car insurance, and it’s nearly impossible to go even a day without seeing his face or hearing his voice on a TV ad of some sort.
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Nobody begrudges Shaq his status as one of the most prolific athlete pitchmen of all-time, but when you attach your name to so many things, eventually one of them is bound to look bad.
Shaq sent out a tweet back in December urging his followers to vote for Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley for the NFL Pro Bowl, a seemingly odd and out-of-the-blue request that one commenter responded to by saying, “This is deadass the most random tweet I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Henley didn’t end up making the cut, but he was cited by multiple NFL insiders as one of the biggest snubs, so it’s not like Shaq was asking for anything too crazy.
What has people talking about this tweet again today, though, is the fact that Henley’s dad, music executive Eugene “Big U” Henley, was just arrested in connection with a federal RICO case that includes charges of murder, human trafficking, and extortion.
TMZ reported on Big U’s arrest and also noted that he is accused of pocketing the matching $20,000 donations from Shaq and Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green that were supposed to go to charitable causes. Shaq and Big U’s friendship goes way back, which Daiyan referenced as the reason Shaq tweeted out his Pro Bowl support.
Shaq is just one of many alleged victims in this case, but the whole ordeal is a lesson to be careful who you’re friends with
It’s not uncommon for athletes to become embroiled in scandal over whom they choose to associate with or promote. Shaq himself paid out $11 million in connection with FTX after the company’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was indicted on fraud charges. Other celebrities, such as Tom Brady and Larry David, were also caught up in the mess.
People are circling back to Shaq’s Daiyan Henley tweet due to Big U’s arrest, which probably means it’s a good time for the big fella to click that delete button and save himself the trouble of having to hear about it any more.
Shaq is known as one of the kindest, most charitable athletes of modern times, but he hasn’t always exercised good judgment in choosing what to attach his name to. Hopefully this latest ordeal makes him stop and think before promoting his next thing.
