One of the major grievances that athletes over time have expressed with the growing sports media analysis is how some of the analysts, who haven’t played the sport themselves pass harsh criticisms about athletes. Shaquille O’Neal and Cam Newton have seemingly had enough of this, as they got together on a recent episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq, and absolutely annihilated said analysts.
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Shaq started by cheekily addressing how he and Cam have the G14 Classification to say whatever they want. For those who don’t know, G14 Classification is a made-up word from the movie “Rush Hour” to make fun of Chris Tucker’s character.
Jokes aside, Shaq reiterated that he and Cam can comment and critique sports because they have been there and done that. From high school to the professional level, both of them know what it means to play at the highest level of the game. Hence Shaq asserted that both of them have earned the right to speak, unlike the media analysts.
“I throw this word out because they need to understand G14 classification. So if you were great like a Shaq and a Cam, we have G14 classification to say whatever we want. Because we’ve been there and we’ve done that. You know since high school, college, and the pros; we’ve been there and done that so when we say something, don’t always take it personally.”
Shaq then took shots at Chris “Mad Dog” Russo who once called Shaq the fifth-best center in NBA history. Russo’s comments back then rubbed Shaq the wrong way, with him responding by saying he is the most dominant center ever. Shaq today cited “Mad Dog’s” example and asked people like him to “shut the f**k up” as they don’t know what they are talking about.
“Now so a lot of dudes who have no G14 classification like Mad Dog; like what do you know about quarterback? What do you know about being hit? Like so shut the f**k up mad dog. Stick to the traditional media when it comes to sports you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Seeing Shaq’s emotional tirade only seems to have inspired Cam Newton as he then stretched the argument by Shaq and took out his own vendetta with a straight hit against a prominent commentator.
Cam Newton Takes Shots at Stephen A. Smith
Cam Newton soon entered the fray and continued the essence of Shaq’s point. Cam argued that another reason why most non-athlete sports media analysts is because they are not the source. He opined that there is a “podcast epidemic” today that has led to every other guy having a podcast and opinions. But he argued that it’s important to understand that if you want to hear about basketball, it would be much more valuable to hear from a veteran like Shaq than someone like Stephen A. Smith.
“If I want to hear about basketball, I want to hear from Shaquille O’Neal, not respectfully Stephen A Smith and Stephen A is a good guy. But it’s like who are you comparing? Apples to Apples.”
“If you’re talking about real emotions real preparations real feelings real experiences you’re going straight to the source.”
Cam, however, ended his argument on a positive note. He pointed out to Shaq that this “podcast epidemic” has resulted in him getting very lucrative speaking offers. Initially planning to not oversaturate himself, Cam cheekily admitted that he is now planning to not lean into the “mystique” he wanted to create for himself. He revealed the podcast and media appearances have also helped him get more brand deals and sponsorships.
