Shaquille O’Neal has never been shy to share tales about the years of ‘discipline’ his father, Phil Harrison, dished out to him during his youth. Though, unlike most stories that start out in this bleak manner, the Lakers legend remembers these days fondly. One such memory surrounding this time of his life lies around other NBA players’ misfortunes.
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“I’ve made so many mistakes but good thing about my life is being raised by a drill sergeant. You are taught not to make two mistakes in a row,” said Shaq on his YouTube channel in 2024. He credits quite a bit of his personal and financial development to lessons he learned from Harrison.
While on Mike Bibby’s ‘Straight Game’ podcast, he shared yet another anecdote from his life growing up with an army man. It’s safe to say that Harrison took more just precautionary measures to make sure his son doesn’t end up on the wrong side of the tracks.
“My father used to punish me every time an athlete did something crazy. So, you know, back in the day, let’s just say a guy lost $1 million, which was a lot. I’d get in trouble for that.”
Fairly extreme, to say the least. But to reiterate, O’Neal doesn’t seem perturbed by these interactions he had with his father so it is a bit difficult to cast judgement.
“Old school whooping,” said Shaq to describe what he went through. Fast-forward to present day and he’s now worth over $500 million so it seems as though certain lessons from his father have stuck around well after his passing in 2013.
Shaq on the worst whooping he ever got
It’s hard to forget the “worst whooping” you’ve ever gotten. The ‘Big Aristotle’ certainly hasn’t forgotten as he went into great detail over when and why this took place.
“Probably my last whooping was when he came in the house one day and he was crying. He had his uniform messed up and he said, ‘If you ever do c*ke, I’ll kill you.’ So, I’m 13. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was like, ‘Dad, I don’t drink Coke. I drink Pepsi.”
This was around the time Len Bias, a man slated to carry Larry Bird’s torch for the Celtics, had passed due to an overdose before playing in a single NBA game. So, it was only natural for a father with a son getting into athletics to be worried about him.
This led Shaq to never touch any sort of substances throughout his life and career. Though, it hasn’t stopped him from indulging in the occasional hookah.
