Former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Shaquille O’Neal once attacked a drug dealer’s dog for tearing his new shoes.
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Shaquille O’Neal is known to be a kind man. His charity and big heart have become two defining aspects post-retirement. A man who champions the upliftment of all communities, O’Neal wasn’t always this way.
Once upon a time, Shaq was a cruel, mean man who bullied NBA players without any regard. His extraordinary size and strength made it easy for him to dominate almost every opponent.
For O’Neal, his childhood wasn’t much different. He was huge even as a kid. To top it off, O’Neal lived with his father who regularly trashed him.
The beating over every trivial matter inculcated violence in Shaq. As a kid, his only redemption for the beating at home was trashing someone and anyone.
Mostly, he took it out on students of his school. Though a dark incident in school where a child went into an epileptic seizure stopped his violence, O’Neal had been in countless fights until then.
In fact, he once even tried to kill a dog as a child.
Shaquille O’Neal reacted violently to a dog tearing his shoes
In his book Shaq Uncut, O’Neal narrated the story of Sam the dog in detail. He revealed how the dog tore his newest Chuck Taylor converse shoes.
As a child, Shaq lived in Jersey City with his grandmother. Near his grandma’s house was a park and a drug dealer named Pee Wee lived on the other side of it. Every evening at 4:15, Pee Wee would let his German Shepherd out and the dog would chase the kids in the park.
So once, O’Neal’s dad bought him brand new all-white shoes. He then commanded O’Neal to make them last but Pee Wee’s dog tore them on the first day itself.
Shaq wrote: “I go outside in my new Chuck Taylors and I’m strutting around and I’m feeling good. I am The Man. But at 4:15 the screen door opens and that damn dog Sam starts coming right for me. I start running and I try to jump the fence, but I’m so big I’m having trouble scrambling up there. My feet are dangling and I’m trying to hoist myself over, but the dog gets the back of my shoe and rips it. So I go home and tell my dad and he says, “I don’t want to hear that crap!” and he punches me.”
He continued: “The next day I get myself a stick, and when Pee Wee’s dog comes out I try to break his neck. I’m so mad about the Chuck Taylors I’m trying to kill that dog Sam. The dog runs back in the house and Pee Wee comes out acting real tough and I hit him with the stick, too. Next thing you know his three brothers come out and they beat the stuffing out of me. I am so messed up my father doesn’t even bother to whip me again.”
Luckily kid Shaquille O’Neal did not harm the dog. Unluckily he was beaten up by his father and then the dog’s drug dealer owner. To be fair, we can understand how O’Neal must have felt.
As if he was not just wronged by the dog but as if he was unfairly punished for the shoes too. And it was hardly Shaq’s fault. He was innocent throughout. Do you think Shaq’s father was too cruel toward him?
Also read: “LeBron James Is Not From This Planet”: Darvin Ham Gives Out Early Grades For Lakers Roster
