Shaquille O’Neal has been a former NBA player for nearly a decade and a half now, but he remains just as famous for his off-court activities as he was for dominating the center position during his prime. His nightly presence on Inside the NBA helps, as does the uniqueness of his commercial appearances. But at the end of the day, Shaq is — and always has been — larger than life in more ways than one.
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Despite his fame, the Lakers legend has never fallen prey to the worst trappings of celebrity, such as flaunting his wealth or treating people poorly. Quite the opposite; Shaq is known for being a philanthropic, gentle giant.
That said, he doesn’t want to be referred to as a celebrity. In a recent appearance on The Pivot podcast with Ryan Clark, Shaq acknowledged that there’s a negative connotation attached to the word.
The entourage, the way they act like they’re better than others — he doesn’t want to be associated with any of that. He went on to explain how his wild childhood helped shape him into a more responsible man.
“I’ve always said to myself, ‘My mama’s watching. What would she say if she saw me acting like a g****** fool?’ Shaq asked rhetorically. “It would hurt her heart. Because from 2 to 15, I hurt her heart every g****** day, doing dumb s***. Anything below guns and all that crazy s***, I was a master at it.”
Shaq would steal, he would act out, he would get into crazy things, but he snapped out of it one day thanks to his dad.
“I remember my father disciplined me one time, that m*********** hit me so hard, he changed my life,” the Hall of Famer said. “After that, I was just like, ‘Yes, sir.'”
Perhaps child services would get involved today if Shaq’s father whooped him like that today. But there’s no denying that it worked on him. That’s why, even in today’s absence of corporal punishment, the Big Diesel thinks there’s still an effective method for keeping people in check.
Shaq is a believer in the positive power of social media
Social media is a constant presence in how people live and consume news today, and its negative effects are well-documented. However, when it comes to steering people away from their worst impulses, Shaq believes social media can be an extremely useful tool.
“What I like about the world we live in now is everybody’s mistake is amplified,” he said. “We didn’t really have that, so my father would have to pick and choose his stories. But now you see a person make a mistake…”
Shaq’s Inside the NBA co-host Charles Barkley once infamously declared, “I am not a role model.” Shaq echoed that and put his own spin on it.
“That’s why I always say, I’m not a role model, I’m a real model. If I make a mistake and you follow me and you see I made a mistake, you can tell your kid, ‘Hey man, I know you like Shaq, but he f***** up, don’t do that.’ That’s what I like about this social media thing, is everybody’s mistake is amplified.”
Shaq is living proof that you don’t have to be an a****** just because you’re rich and famous. He readily admits that he’s not perfect, but that honesty only makes him more relatable.
