Shaq has fired back at the computer hack who exposed him as a clumsy mack. The insane battle between Shaquille O'Neal and his ex-con IT guy-- who sued his former boss and leaked scandalous emails of the retired basketball behemoth being an extra-marital lothario-- got more complicated Thursday.
Shaq filed his own lawsuit in Miami-Dade Civil court, accusing Darling of interception and disclosure of electronic communications, breach of fiduciary duty, invasion of privacy, and fraud.
In September, we told the epic tale of how in the world Shaq got in this deep against his freakin' computer guy. Darling has accused Shaq, a police groupie who's worked in several departments including Miami Beach's, of attempting to use his cop connections to frame him with child porn.
We also published some of the more sensational emails, which were briefly filed in the public record: Shaq flirting with a senior Newsweek writer. Shaq having a bizarre digital back-and-forth with a thoroughly cowed entourage member. And our favorite, Shaq busting out his instantly-recognizable brand of poetry to mack it to a Swedish model:
Shaq: Where can I cum at when I c u
Her: All over me, where do you wanna cum?
Shaq: In u foreva
The dissemination of the emails is central to the lawsuit against Darling.
According to the complaint, the computer geek-- who charged $75 to $150 for his work and, purportedly unbenkownst to Shaq, had been convicted of federal bank fraud--"began marketing O'Neal's electronic communications to third parties."
Specifically, Shaq claims, Darling sold his emails to a "well known and highly trafficked Internet website"-- which we're guessing is RadarOnline.com.
Darling's lawyer then threatened that he would continue to spread the emails if he wasn't given $12 million, according to the lawsuit. The complaint adds that Darling dodged a court order when he filed some of the emails in his lawsuit against Shaq.
Shaq's lawyers argue that Darling registering his email server with Go Daddy for $96 does not give the computer dude ownership over his personal messages.
The retired basketball star with a TNT broadcasting job waiting for him if the NBA lockout ends claims he was "damaged by the widespread publication of these private personal facts."
He's seeking financial damages for the blows his reputation has taken, as well as an injunction blocking Darling from making any further use of his emails.
The back-and-forth lawsuits mirror the legal tangle former teammate Dwyane Wade found himself in a couple of years ago. Sued by a former business partner with a penchant for broadcasting salacious allegations about the Heat superstar, Dwyane Wade then fired back with his own defamation lawsuit. The legal action was eventually all settled out of court.
You can view Shaq's complaint against Darling courtesy of Courthouse News Service.
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