Shaquille O’Neal is undoubtedly rolling in dough nowadays. However, things were not always like that, as Shaq was born and brought up in New Jersey with limited means. Considering his personality today, one could imagine that young Shaq had a bit of a habit of getting into trouble, regularly during his younger days.
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That seems to hold out exactly true, as far as his confession on a recent segment of The Big Podcast is concerned. Speaking to his co-host Adam Lefkoe, the LA Lakers legend revealed a hilarious story from his childhood.
O’Neal was asked about where he thought he ranked amongst some true legends of the game. In response, he simply claimed that just having his name mentioned alongside the players meant he had ‘made it.’ “There were times when me and King Kin robbed a couple of stores and, you know, police ran up on us,” Shaq revealed, before claiming that he never got caught by the authorities.
Lefkoe joked about the situation, claiming that he should have been caught considering he was a foot taller than everyone else. O’Neal was then asked about the last time he stole something, to which he had a hilarious response.
Shaq pleaded the Fifth Amendment and claimed that Lefkoe was merely another ‘white man’ trying to set him up. “White man just trying to set me up. I plead the fifth. We always use to steal, never got caught,” he claimed.
While Shaq was extremely delighted with the fact that he never got caught by the authorities, justice had its own way of being delivered. O’Neal revealed that even after stealing candy, his parents would ensure he got punished when he got home.
“As soon as we get home we would be like,’ what the hell you all been doing? Empty your pockets. Where the f**k you’ll get some M&Ms from?’ A** whooping,” he burst into laughter, revealing that his stepfather Phillip Harrison would instill discipline each time he got home after having stolen something.
This held for even candy, as Shaq revealed he would try to make up the excuse that instead of stealing it, someone had handed him the M&Ms in question. However, even that would lead to further trouble, as his father did not want him to accept things from strangers.
While these are funny stories for O’Neal to tell today, his parents disciplining him through every act is a massive reason behind his success today. After all, even with a slightly wayward sense of morals, it is easy to go down a dark path. However, Shaq’s stepfather, Sergeant Phillip A. Harrison made sure to do right by his son, teaching him the right way to go about everything.
As for O’Neal’s comment about Lefkoe being another caucasian man trying to get him in trouble, while he was just joking, he is probably better off not saying too much. After all, who knows what happens if he says too much?
Shaquille O’Neal still has a tendency to evade authorities
Shaquille O’Neal can largely be singularly praised for the kind of decisions he has made in recent decades. Now an entrepreneur worth $400 million, Shaq has seen huge success with his investments and endorsements in recent years.
However, that is not true with respect to his decision to endorse the FTX crypto platform back in November 2022, according to Forbes. The now-bankrupt company led to his involvement in a class-action lawsuit alongside several celebrities such as Steph Curry, David Ortiz, Shohei Ohtani, and Naomi Osaka.
What’s more, lawyers associated with the suit had been trying to serve him for months since the lawsuit initially came up, around December 2022. They managed to actually do so months later, in April, after evading all communication despite repeated notifications. O’Neal was finally served outside his own house, according to Business Insider. Some old habits, therefore, surely do not die easily.
