Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. But, apart from his love for basketball, Shaq has other interests too. One of his biggest fascinations has been with law enforcement. In fact, prior to winning his fourth NBA Championship, Big Diesel went into training to become a cop. The Hall of Famer has worked as a reserve police officer, and with his training came a lot of ragging as well. In fact, some of the cops would hurl abuse at him and even make him do push-ups whenever the chance came. But, Shaq was never phased.
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After all, he had grown up in a military home. And, as he revealed in his book, Shaq Uncut, a few push-ups were nothing compared to the things his stepfather Phillip Harrison made him do.
Shaquille O’Neal was unphased by police training thanks to his father Sgt. Phillip Harrison
Shaquille O’Neal didn’t exactly have an easy childhood growing up. He was quite the troublesome young man, and often received harsh discipline from his father Phillip Harrison. Discipline that often included severe beatings.
But, it wasn’t always the belt for Shaq. There were times when his father took a more constructive approach. It could be writing an essay, reciting a speech, or simply, doing 100 push-ups. Safe to say, Sgt. Harrison covered all bases.
So, when The Big Aristotle decided to pursue a career in law enforcement, he was prepared. He may have been an NBA superstar, but law enforcement always intrigued him. But, becoming an officer isn’t easy, and during his training days, Shaq received much ridicule from the other police officers. However, it had little to no effect on him, and that is all thanks to his stepfather, the disciplinarian.
“The cops went out of their way to treat me like shit with their abuse and their orders and shouting in my ear, but since I grew up like that, it was nothing for me. When they got all tough with me and yelled, ‘Drop and give me twenty push-ups!’ inside I was laughing because I was thinking, ‘My father would have made me do a hundred.'”
It’s a good thing that Sarge’s more conservative methods proved useful for Shaq. Not to say, his beatings didn’t work. The four-time NBA Champion has gone on record stating he understood his father’s decision to beat him. But, it almost lost him his job.
Sgt. Harrison’s decision to beat Shaq nearly lost him his job
Sometimes, having his son write a speech didn’t work. So, Sgt. Phillip Harrison resorted to more violent methods. He always had a quick temper, and when Shaq pulled the fire alarm at the Army gym, his temper flared. So much so, that he beat him up right in front of the Military police.
An act that could have cost him his job, seeing as they threatened to charge him with child abuse and write him up.
Fortunately, it never came to that. And, to this day O’Neal still holds his stepfather in high regard, crediting him for making him the man he is today.
