“I did what Ime Udoka did too”: Shaquille O’Neal’s candid take on Celtics HC cheating on Nia Long with travel planner

Shaquille O’Neal made one of the smoothest player-to-pundit transitions one can imagine.

The Big Diesel felt almost tailormade for his role at TNT. A born entertainer, Shaq fit right in with the Inside the TNT crew and makes our basketball viewing experience a funnier one.

With great power definitely comes great responsibility. Years of superstardom on the court and now experience in punditry make Shaq a man of great position in the basketball universe. Naturally, Shaq’s comments are often sought in connection with any league update.

Also read: “I Never Wanted To Be The Best. I Wanted To Be The Meanest!”: Shaquille O’Neal Described His Mindset During His Legendary NBA Career

The latest hot news in NBA circles is definitely the Ime Udoka and the travel planner scandal, something you can read all about here. The former NBA player is fresh from leading the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals but finds himself suspended. Udoka’s suspension arises from a violation of the team code of conduct following a relationship he had with a female club staff member.

Udoka had been engaged to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Nia Long for over 7 years. Udoka cheating on Long had been trending since the news broke.

Shaq, being a respected pundit who had also played for the Celtics was asked to comment on the situation. But the big man refused to contribute to the discourse.

Why did Shaquille O’Neal remain unavailable for comment on the Ime Udoka controversy?

Shaq refused to talk because he had once been in Udoka’s shoes. Shaq may not have broken NBA team codes of conduct, but infidelity was a sin he had committed.

At their athletic prime and with a steady influx of millions, an NBA star’s companionship is pretty much always in demand. Shaq was no random NBA star either. He was “Superman”.

The power and recognition came with challenges, including the temptation of infidelity. And O’Neal gave into the same, in his own admission.

““I am going to step down from this conversation. I was a serial cheater. It would be crazy and blasphemous for me to get up here and say, ‘Boom, boom, bam.’ I can’t do that. I know these guys personally. I know they’re going through a lot because I went through a lot.”

Shaq went on to speak about how his infidelity affected his family and his children. O’Neal’s tone is filled with regret and his empathy for Ime under the circumstances is felt.

“I’m never the guy that’s gonna get up here because of my platform and fake it. I did it. I was the best at it and not proud of it at all. I lost my family doing it. I lost valuable, important years of my children from doing it. … I’m not that guy. I’m real with the situation.”

Shaq does not want to hold the high horse. The Big Diesel is as real as they come, and staying unavailable for comment under the circumstances is a commendable move.

With mainstream media credibility often under criticism, Shaq provides a welcome change in the pattern.

Also read: 7 footer Shaquille O’Neal got so angry at Charles Barkley, he threatened to knock his a** out, just for some stolen airtime