Shaquille O’Neal’s generosity came to light once he earned millions as an NBA player. ‘The Diesel’ started donating large sums to support worthwhile causes and help those around him. In his 2011 memoir, ‘Shaq Uncut‘, he shared one such story involving his stepbrother, Jamal Harrison.
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The incident occurred in 1999 at the Newark Boys and Girls Club of America. The two had teamed up with the local players to play basketball. However, the game didn’t quite meet Shaq’s expectations. The reason? The club’s cracked and sloped pavement. It made it almost impossible to play a decent one-on-one game.
This infuriated Shaq. At the same time, he realized that it was unreasonable for children to play in such conditions. As a result, he became determined to donate $1 million to improve the infrastructure around the club. He immediately called his business manager, Lester Knispel, to inform his decision.
Although Knispel tried to talk him out of donating such a large sum, Shaq was resolute. He went ahead with his plan. In his own words,
“I was so disgusted I called up Lester and said, “I want to donate $1 million to the Boys and Girls Club.” Lester said, “Okay, slow down, Shaq, what for?” I told him, “We’ve got to fix these courts. It’s ridiculous to ask kids to play ball in conditions like this.” Lester’s trying to tell me, “It won’t cost a million dollars to fix some blacktops,” but I didn’t care. I had made up my mind.”
Shaq’s donation had a profound impact. Part of the money was used to build technology centers at the club, while the rest went toward creating an online safety program for kids in collaboration with Microsoft. This incident showcased his kind-hearted spirit. The world soon got to see even more of it.
A few of Shaq’s exemplary generous acts
O’Neal has often received praise for putting his family first. For instance, ‘The Diesel’ once gifted his brother a check after one of his companies did well. After handing over what appeared to be a substantial amount, he encouragingly said,
“I saw one of my companies get some extra change. That ain’t for bills. That is for you. If you want to go buy one of those Rolls-Royce trucks, go ahead. Go get what you want.”
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His commitment to family hasn’t stopped him from giving back to the community. He founded ‘The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation’ to improve the lives of underserved youth. This initiative is a key part of Shaq’s philanthropic efforts, through which he has donated millions over the years.
