Shaunie Henderson, the former wife of Shaquille O’Neal, made surprising revelations in her memoir, Undefeated. She spoke about facing mistreatment from a few NBA wives during her early days in the league. However, she also named John Salley’s wife, Tasha, and Magic Johnson’s partner, Cookie, as notable exceptions.
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The situation centered around Shaq’s time with the Lakers in the late 1990s. He had just started dating Shaunie and had introduced her to the rest of the roster and their families as his girlfriend. This soon became the root of the problems she would face.
Shaunie realized there was a hierarchy among the female partners of NBA players. Most wives viewed themselves as superior to girlfriends and treated them with disdain. They competed for the closest seats to the team bench to showcase their importance to the franchise. A similar power dynamic played out in the family section, where seating arrangements reflected status and prestige.
All this led to the mistreatment of NBA players’ girlfriends. Shaunie thus found herself at the center of it. These negative experiences began to weigh on her. She fortunately found her support system in Tasha and Cookie before it became too overwhelming.
Tasha warmly welcomed her into the group with open arms. Meanwhile, Cookie understood the hostility she faced. She often showed her extra affection to ensure she felt included. These efforts left a lasting mark on Shaunie. In her own words,
“John Salley’s wife, Tasha, was an exception; she was welcoming and warm to me from the beginning, but that’s just her personality. Cookie Johnson, Magic’s wife, was also very sweet to me when I was a girlfriend. She knew how the other wives were treating me… Show me extra love. I was nobody to her, and she didn’t have to do it, but she did. Cookie is a class act.”
Shaunie’s challenges eventually eased when she got engaged to Shaq in 2000 and married him two years later. Despite her newfound status, she never used her marriage as a means of dominance. Instead, she shifted the power dynamics by warmly welcoming new partners.
