Jason Whitlock 'connects the dots' on viral Shaquille O'Neal 'financial bounty' rumors on Shannon Sharpe amid allegations 

Shannon Sharpe is in the middle of dealing with a $50 million lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault that has caused him to step away from his responsibilities at ESPN. As the situation continues, new information is coming forward, including the potential involvement of Shaquille O'Neal, whom Jason Whitlock says paid people for information on Sharpe.

Both Shannon Sharpe and Shaquille O'Neal are former professional athletes who have turned their second careers into a wild success. Sharpe won two Super Bowls in the NFL while O'Neal is a four-time NBA champion. After retiring, both players entered the media world, where they were able to maintain their popularity and their celebrity status.

With Shannon Sharpe facing allegations of sexual assault, Jason Whitlock brought up the idea that perhaps O'Neal offered to pay money for incriminating information on Sharpe that could shine a bad light on him. Whitlock expanded on his thoughts in Thursday's episode of Harmony.

"I'm not saying this to draw sympathy, I'm connecting the dots," said Whitlock about his theory. "...there's real danger here, in speaking truth, speaking righteously, because you end up taking on very powerful people that have resources, and they can put a financial bounty on you."

While Whitlock didn't explicitly say that O'Neal put a bounty on information about Shannon Sharpe's situation, he used the example to explain how the information could have been leaked in a world where Sharpe has a lot of enemies with a lot of money.

The beef between Shannon Sharpe and Shaquille O'Neal goes back to the 1990s

Shannon Sharpe and Shaquille O'Neal's paths didn't cross much during their playing careers, but Whitlock pointed out a situation that could have soured the relationship between the two. According to a conversation he had with former NFL player Derrick Thomas, both Sharpe and O'Neal were interested in the same woman.

Since then, neither Sharpe nor O'Neal has reached out to connect with the other, carrying animosity towards one another ever since. While it is unconfirmed whether or not the former Laker willingly sought out information that could be used to implicate Sharpe and accuse him of sexual assault, he likely isn't the only athlete that Sharpe was on the wrong side of in his past.

Sharpe has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in a X post that was released just as the information regarding his alleged sexual assault was made public. No ruling has been made on the situation just yet, but it is a tough hit to Sharpe's reputation and his credibility as an on-air personality and a role model to younger athletes.