Shaquille O’Neal Explains Why He Sees Right Through His Daughters’ Romantic Interests

Shaquille O’Neal is a father of six children, including three daughters who are now old enough for the Lakers legend to be concerned about their dating options. There is Taahirah, who is 29. Amirah O’Neal is 24. And Me’arah is a 19-year-old sophomore who plays basketball for the Florida Gators.

With age comes the natural process of maturing and finding romantic interests. But according to Shaq, he is always extremely strict toward the men his daughters bring home. He wants them to understand that he is not their friend and that he does not mess around.

Even when those men try to be polite to O’Neal, he admits he responds coldly. Call it experience, but he says he is a strong judge of character when it comes to evaluating the boyfriends his daughters choose.

“One of my babies brought a man by,” O’Neal shared on The Big Podcast. “He tried to shake my hand, I said, ‘If you don’t get the f**k out of my face… If you don’t get the f**k away from me… Get your a** out of my face, man.’”

It sounds like Shaq is the prototypical protective father when it comes to meeting his daughters’ romantic interests. But what’s really unfortunate is that the men are probably massive fans of his. He’s more than likely crushing their spirits whenever he acts this way toward them. 

However, O’Neal later clarified that one particular guy his daughter brought home simply did not have proper manners. “Don’t show up at my crib with your pants hanging off half your a**,” O’Neal advised. “Don’t address me as ‘OG’. It ain’t going to go.”

Knowing this, it’s a bit more understandable why the former Lakers man reacted the way he did. The guy didn’t make a good first impression, and O’Neal wanted to let him know about it. Still, his daughter couldn’t have been too thrilled. At the end of the day, though, O’Neal can see right through these men. 

“What these kids don’t understand, we can see them as our parents saw us. Like, there ain’t no line you could tell my daughter that I ain’t invent,” he shared. “I could look at them and tell who they are already.”

Shaq later said that he prefers to be addressed as “Mr. O’Neal” when he first meets his daughters’ romantic partners. Once he gets to know them and spends more time around them, he will loosen up. But he is always going to be a tough nut to crack.

Overall, O’Neal seems genuinely concerned about who his daughters end up with. It is a natural worry that most parents have. Maybe if he gives one of the guys a real chance, he might be surprised and eventually feel comfortable welcoming them into the family.