We should preface this story with the fact that everyone and their mothers know that Shaquille O’Neal is a big kid who likes to joke around.
But this is an awfully specific and inappropriate thing to be joking about, if that’s what it is.
In an interview with Bill MacDonald of Time Warner Cable, O’Neal drew laughs during this exchange:
Macdonald: “I know LSU meant a lot to you in [former LSU head coach] Dale Brown.”
O’Neal: “Yes they paid me very well (draws laughter). Statute of limitations is up. I can talk about it. They paid me very well. That’s right, baby, LSU.”
It didn’t end there, Shaq went on to talk about wanting his son to play at LSU as well.
Shaq wants his son to play for LSU: “You can probably get a house, you can get 2 cars. I’ll set it up for you. I know some people”
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 26, 2016
By the way, Shaq’s son, Shareef, is one of the better players in 2018 class and already holds at least five scholarship offers.
These comments were made during an All-Access event for the Lakers at the Staples Center.
So was he kidding? Honestly, probably not. Given the climate of college basketball recruiting during that time, I’d be surprised if everything was on the up and up. But for Shaq to come out and make a joke about it is equally surprising and selfish.
Or maybe Shaq got real-life and his 1994 movie “Blue Chips” confused.
Ironically, in the film, Shaq’s character Neon Boudeaux, was staunchly opposed to taking any improper recruiting benefits to play for the Western University Dolphins.
Did you honestly think there was a chance I wasn’t going to include a link to a clip from Blue Chips?
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Update: We should point out that the next day Shaq claimed he was “just kidding”.
- TAGS
- Blue Chips
- Los Angeles Lakers
- LSU
- Shaquille O’neal
