“Call me Shaqzilla”: Shaquille O’Neal in 2011 Confessed His Stepfather’s ‘Name-Calling’ Helped Him Prepare For the Brutal World of Sports

Shaquille O’Neal’s humungous size was a huge boon when he came to the NBA. However, outside, before he made it big, it was the source of name-calling and mockery. According to Shaq’s book, “Shaq Uncut,” the LA Lakers legend was very used to being called a range of names during his childhood. He claimed that it didn’t cause him any difference, because of the simple reason that his stepfather Sgt. Phillip Harrison had been doing the same, for much longer.

Shaq’s father is often said to have played a huge role during his development and childhood. His strictness and discipline were, in part, because he could see O’Neal had a lot of potential in basketball. Regardless, Shaq himself has talked about his dad’s role in his success, multiple times.

Shaquille O’Neal was called a range of names back in school

Via his book, Shaq revealed the extent of the name-calling that he had to suffer through, during his childhood. Once, after he had bent a rim at Southside College, he began to be known as “Freakzilla,” or “Shaqzilla.”

While undoubtedly harsh, Shaq did not care. This was because he was being called much harsher things by his father ever since he was a toddler:

“There was a lot of name-calling in my senior year. For some reason, people liked to do that. Southside, the school that I bent the rims against, liked to call me Shaqzilla, Freakzille. I’m the type of guy who takes criticism and name-calling two ways. You can either get dogged by it and hang your head, or you can get motivated and have it make you go up harder. Here’s the thing they didn’t realize. My father used to call me names all the time. Crybaby. Softy. I’d heard it all. He started doing that when I was three years old. He knew what was coming. He was getting me ready.”

While he was called a range of names at school, there is little doubt that the names his dad called him were arguably harsher. Still, Shaq claimed that his dad was only preparing him for what was coming in his career. He not only had to suffer through name-calling in school but also as an NBA professional. However, Harrison was very protective of Shaq and maybe that’s why he prepared his son for everything.

Phillip Harrison was utterly protective of Shaquille O’Neal

The fact that Harrison always looked out for his son proved to be a huge boon for Shaq. Once Shaq was on the verge of leaving college, he already had an agent.

O’Neal was only one of the high-profile stars his agent Leonard Armato worked with. However, his father ensured that Armato knew exactly what he was dealing with.

Before Shaq joined the Magic, Harrison told Armato that he would kill the agent if his son was “messed with.” Harrison’s wife confirmed the claim to the agent, and told him that he was “not kidding.” There is no doubt that Harrison was utterly protective of Shaq and would do whatever he thought was necessary for his success, and safety.