During his retirement year in 2011, Shaquille O’Neal was very upset with the actions of young NBA stars, which he thought showed a lack of responsibility as public figures. At the time, social media was still evolving as an important tool in everybody’s daily lives. Therefore, people were still figuring out how to respond to the new technology that prompted bizarre antics from the masses. In an attempt to restore normalcy, Shaq called out young NBA stars for showing off their $500,000 cars on social media. In his 2011 autobiography Shaq Uncut, the Big Aristotle vented quite a lot about such occurrences and gave a valuable piece of advice for young stars trying to make it in the league.
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Shaquille O’Neal is known for his marketing wiz and savviness on different platforms. From Epson Printers to Pepsi Soda, Shaq has always had brilliant ideas to promote the brands he works with. He knows how to sell his ideas, which helped him amass his massive $400,000,000 net worth.
Shaquille O’Neal called out young players for misusing social media as a tool
It is no secret that Shaquille O’Neal thinks that social media is a valuable tool for marketing and promotion and uses it to optimally to fuel his brand on the Internet. However, in his retirement year in 2011, Shaq was displeased with people sharing every single detail about their lives on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
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He called out athletes, who would often share snaps and clips of their $500,000 cars and other expensive luxury items, on their social media pages. Furthermore, the Lakers legend also called out players who would flex meeting A-list celebrities, such as Beyonce, in the back stage. According to the big fella, this kind of behavior was extremely vain and superficial. Here is an excerpt from his book Shaq Uncut which clearly notes his frustration:
You have to be careful how you use the social network. I get really turned off by people who tweet every detail about their lives, even if they are superstars. “I ate a chicken sandwich. It was soggy.” Who the hell cares?…If I have three million followers, I’m not going to jam it down their throats how cool I am, how rich I am, how fabulous I am. You’re not going to see me touting, “I’m in my $500,000 car right now,” or “I’m backstage with Beyoncé right now.” Some of the athletes who are out there tweeting are so self-centered it’s a major turnoff.
Shaq was definitely not in favor of athletes straying away from their goal of achieving greatness in their field. Indeed, while social media is a boon for marketing, it can turn out to be a bane for several other reasons. The whole Ja Morant flashing his gun incident is the very thing that Shaq tried warning everyone about. And turns out, the big man was right. The Grizzlies star now finds himself in muddy waters with the NBA, after receiving a massive fine and a prolonged suspension ahead of the upcoming season.
Shaq had mastered small people activities like dancing and karate
Shaquille O’Neal is known for his curiosity and zeal to learn new things. However, Shaq is a 7’1″, 325-lbs man, a giant compared to the average human. Hence, it is very difficult for him to master ‘small people’ activities. But the Diesel is always ready to try to fit in better with his peers.
“I was always kind of ashamed of being big so I mastered what all the other little guys mastered like dancing and karate. I wanted to be small so I could do all the small things and I think that’s why I’m such a phenomenal athlete.”
Shaquille O’Neal most definitely had the talent to be the master of all trades. Be it acting in movies, dancing, or participating in karate competitions, Shaq has done it all.
