Shaquille O’Neal is known for his hilarious shenanigans on shows. A few years ago, he refused to talk to host Kristen Ledlow until she called him “Dark Nowitzki” during a segment on NBA TV. Quite similarly, he refused to talk with Pat McAfee unless he changed his outfit during the live show.
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During an appearance on McAfee’s eponymous show on ESPN, Shaquille O’Neal was disappointed when he saw McAfee wearing a black t-shirt.
The 37-year-old usually wears a tank top on the show, which has become his signature outfit. Therefore, Shaq declined to continue with the show till McAfee change into his signature outfit.
The first thing Shaq said after joining the show was, “I’m not talking to you Pat. I wait all this time to get on your show, where’s the tank top? Where’s the tank top, dude?”
McAfee replied that he was wearing a t-shirt because of the cold weather. A tank top won’t suffice in such a situation. However, the former NFL star soon dashed to change from a t-shirt to a tank top, so that Shaq was content enough to begin the conversation.
Pat McAfee returned to the set in a tank top within 40 seconds after O’Neal’s refusal to have a conversation. Shaq was ecstatic after seeing him return to his signature style. As he was making his way back to the set, Shaq excitedly said, “There he is, there he is, Thank You.”
This incident sums up Shaq’s eccentric nature. The speed with which McAfee returned implies that he is aware of O’Neal’s oddities. Since the big fella is accustomed to seeing McAfee in a tank top, he felt something was amiss when the latter was in his t-shirt.
However, sometimes his quirks can go a little far. In July, former TNT reporter Kirsten Ledlow shared a video of Shaq hiding his face with a paper because she didn’t want to call him “Dark Nowitzki”, a wordplay on Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki’s name.
It took quite some time for the segment on the NBA TV to begin until Ledlow reluctantly called O’Neal with the name he wanted to hear.
