Shaquille O'Neal has spoken out after a picture of an unidentified man with his large hands on a woman went viral, with social media detectives claiming it could be the NBA legend.
Earlier this week, Maria Ozuna Teachey shared a picture of herself with a tall man, who shares a similar build to O'Neal, cuddling her from behind with his hands on her chest in front of a mirror.
The man's shoulders and head were out of shot, leading to speculation over his identify - particularly after Teachey captioned the image: "Unapologetically us. Can y'all guess who feet? #loveyou."
Teachey boasts more than 200,000 followers on Instagram, and the image immediately went viral on social media.
Advert
Fans were quick to claim the unidentified man was four-time NBA champion O'Neal, who played for the likes of the Los Angeles and Miami Heat during his professional career.
But the 52-year-old has now denied he is the man in the photo.
After social media account WorldStar reposted the picture on its Instagram page, captioning it: "Folks on social media seem to think #Shaq has a new girlfriend", the man himself responded: "Nope not the kid."
Shaq then shared a video on his own Instagram account with five different women, captioning the post: "Is this my girlfriend too, trust me I'll let y'all know who my woman is, and by the way my woman name is Shaqirah."
He also posted a clip of himself lip-synching to Denzel Washington's speech in 'Training Day' with the caption: "I will let y'all know when I'm in love."
Teachey has since deleted the post from her Instagram account, however, it is still up on Facebook.
Shaq was previously married to Shaunie Henderson, the founder and CEO of Amirah, Inc. - the company behind 'Basketball Wives', for nine years before they divorced in 2011.
The couple have five children together; Shareef, Amirah, Me'arah, Shaqir and step-son Myles B. O'Neal from Shaunie's previous relationship.
O'Neal also has a daughter Taahirah O'Neal, who he parents with ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.
In recent years, O'Neal has remained private about his romantic life.
But in May, he spoke out after Henderson released her memoir 'Undefeated', in which she questioned whether she ever really loved her former husband.
After the book's release, O'Neal shared a message on Instagram, writing: "I understand... I wouldn't have been in love with me either.
"Wishing you all the best. All love, Shaq. Trust me I get it."
Topics: Shaquille ONeal, NBA, Basketball
Rory O'Callaghan