An Atlanta-based female rapper has taken a temporary restraining order against NBA all-star Shaquille O’Neal amid claims she was stalked by the Phoenix Suns player.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that O’Neal has been ordered to stay away from 23-year-old Alexis Miller.
The order, which was granted Thursday (August 21) by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks, forbids the sports star from having any contact or even coming within 200 yards of Miller or her 19-month-old son.
The ruling came after Hicks reviewed Miller’s allegations that O’Neal stalked her, threatened her with bodily harm and made harassing phone calls in which he breathed heavily into the phone before hanging up.
The ordeal, according to Miller’s lawyer L. David Wolfe has “been very difficult for her.” “Her fears are not only for herself but also the people around her,” he told the Journal-Constitution, adding that his client is “pretty traumatized.”
A court affidavit bolsters Miller’s case as it contained an e-mail from O’Neal that quotes him saying “I dnt no who the [expletive] u think u dealin wit u will neva be heard from one phone call is I gotta make now try me. Sho me.”
The restraining order comes after Miller claimed she ended an intimate relationship with O’Neal last month.
Miller, who raps under the name Maryjane, further alleged the 36-year-old center threatened to pay performers $50,000 each not to work with her.
According to Wolfe, the pair had become intimate over the past six to eight months after knowing each other for about a year and a half.
O’Neal’s legal trouble with Miller marks the second time in recent months he has generated controversy.
Earlier this summer, the sports personality was featured in a YouTube video which caught him making negative remarks towards former teammate Kobe Bryant in an impromptu freestyle rap after the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Despite claiming the rap was “done in fun,” O’Neal was relieved of his Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff posse badge by controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio.
The legal ordeal also comes as O’Neal voiced his desire to reconcile with his wife Shaunie after filing for divorce in 2007.
As of early Friday (August 22) afternoon, the star player had not been served paperwork from the case, Wolfe revealed.
O’Neal and Miller are scheduled to appear to appear before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Karen Woodson on September 4.