Already under federal investigation over gambling allegations, NBA free agent Malik Beasley has also faced recent lawsuits from his former agency, a landlord, a lender and a celebrity barber, according to court documents and a new report by The Detroit News.
What The News described Tuesday as ‘$8 million worth of financial problems’ has reportedly left Beasley in serious debt despite signing $59 million worth of NBA contracts over his career.
Beasley was considering a three-year $42 million deal to return to the Detroit Pistons when the team pulled the offer amid the federal probe, according to the Detroit News. Daily Mail has reached out to team spokespeople for confirmation.
He was sued on April 18 by his former agency, Hazan Sports Management Group, for allegedly breaching a marketing contract, according to court files obtained by Daily Mail. The agency claims it negotiated a $6 million deal for Beasley with the Pistons in the summer of 2024 before being fired and replaced with Seros Partners despite a four-year exclusive marketing agreement.
Neither Hazan Sports nor Seros Partners responded to Daily Mail’s request for comment on Wednesday evening.
The lawsuit was previously reported by The Athletic but has resurfaced this week amid reports of the federal gambling probe into Beasley, who has not been charged in the case.
He does face other lawsuits, however.
Already under federal investigation over gambling allegations, NBA free agent Malik Beasley is also being sued by his former agency, a landlord, a lender and a celebrity barber
As first reported by The News, Beasley lost a $5.8 million judgement to a lender in 2022. It remains unclear why Beasley needed the money.
The News also uncovered a financing statement in which Beasley pledged his current and future NBA earnings to a Florida Firm in order to obtain a loan.
Previously, he was sued by his downtown Detroit landlord for allegedly failing to pay $7,355 in back rent, according to The News, which also reports that a Milwaukee barber won $26,827 judgment against Beasley in January.
That same month, Beasley lost a $34,390 default judgment to a dentist in Minnesota, where he previously played. Court records from February show Beasley was having some paychecks garnished to pay the dentist. The debt remains outstanding, according to court records reviewed by Daily Mail.
Beasley does not have an attorney listed for each case. However, he is represented in the gambling probe by criminal defense lawyer Steve Haney, who did speak with The News.
‘I have been with Malik for a long time, I have seen a lot of people around him come and go, but I have stayed away from any of his financial management or mismanagement or decisions he would make with money,’ Haney told The News.
‘I’m his lawyer. I don’t get involved in his finances,’ he continued. ‘You hope to get them around the best business people and planners and management people. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t.’
As for Beasley’s borrowing history, Haney did not see it as unusual.
‘It is very common for professional athletes to go to third-party lenders and get advances on contracts,’ he said. ‘It’s a part of the business of professional sports. Many of these lenders are predatory and charge extremely high interest rates and outrageous fees that border on usury.’
Beasley’s wife Montana Yao (who he is pictured with in 2019) recently filed for separation
Yao (pictured) first broke up with Beasley in 2021 after he was caught with Larsa Pippen
News of the investigation into Beasley comes just four months after his model wife Montana Yao filed for separation, and is just the latest in a series of off-field scandals.
The split from his wife came four years after he was caught having an affair with Scottie Pippen’s ex-wife, Larsa. Beasley and Yao ultimately reunited after he publicly apologized on social media, but she has since filed for separation, citing ‘irreconcilable differences,’ according to court documents obtained by People.com.
The couple shares two children, but Daily Mail learned he moved on to a new lover: Instagram model and gamer Natalia Garibotto.
The Pistons guard appeared to confirm as much on X earlier this year, describing a bikini-clad Garibotto as ‘La mine’ on the social media platform.
The two now make regular appearances on Beasley’s Instagram feed, where they were recently seen vacationing on beautiful white-sand beach.
‘My sunshine,’ read the caption from Beasley.
Beasley is now understood to be in a romantic relationship with model Natalia Garibotto
He’s also had other legal issues in the past, including an arrest on firearm and drug charges that resulted in a 78-day stint in a Minnesota jail.
The incident took place in September of 2020, when Beasley was still playing for the Timberwolves. During a ‘Parade of Homes’ tour through his Plymouth, Minnesota neighborhood, an unidentified couple and their 13-year-old child inadvertently pulled up to a roped-off property being rented by Beasley.
As they decided to look for another home to view, a man matching Beasley’s description allegedly tapped a gun against their car window and told them to get off his property.
As they drove off, the couple claimed, they could see Beasley pointing his gun at them.
The couple then called 9-1-1.
If Beasley is having financial issues, he’s not showing it on Instagram, where he and his rumored girlfriend Natalia Garibotto have been seen galivanting on pristine beaches
Police arrived at Beasley’s rental, where they found 835 grams (1.8 pounds) of marijuana, a 12-gauge shotgun, a handgun, and an automatic rifle, which matched the description of the one he allegedly pointed at the family as they drove away.
The search warrant for the surveillance cameras revealed that Beasley was seen retrieving the gun from the garage and returning it to a mudroom closet around the time of the alleged incident.
Furthermore, the couple was able to identify both Beasley and the gun, according to police.
A 28-year-old from Atlanta, Beasley is a nine-year NBA veteran who has just finished his first season with the Pistons. The former Florida State guard made $6 million this year and has career earnings approaching $60 million.
He could still attract NBA teams despite his legal and financial issues. Beasley is coming off his best season as a pro after hitting an impressive 41.6 percent of his 3-point attempts as one of the premiere sixth men in the league.
Beasley is the son of actors Michael and Deena Beasley, and his grandfather, John Beasley, is a veteran stage performer who also appeared in films such as Rudy, Little Big League, and The Mighty Ducks.