The four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal has made one thing clear.
Considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, O’Neal has gotten over with the fame and glamor. He told the New York Post that he is rejecting his celebrity status.
“These celebrities are going freaking crazy and I don’t want to be one. I denounce my celebrity-ness today. I’m done with it,” the former Los Angeles Lakers shared on Friday to the New York Post.
“I don’t want to be in that category. Celebrities are crazy, they really are. Don’t call me that anymore. These people are out of their freaking mind with how they treat people, what they do, what they say. That’s never been me. I never want to be looked at like that.”
Considered as one of the most acclaimed athletes, he said he did not want to be counted as a person that is “out of their mind”. Instead, he prefers to make a name for his kind gestures far from the sports scene or the media attention.
Among O’Neal’s recent undertaking is with Papa John’s, which gives $1 from each Shaq-a-Roni pizza purchase to aid in the pandemic relief, combat racial injustice, support Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the United Negro College Fund as well as for community involvement.
The 49-year-old is also working with Kellogg’s Mission Tiger to extend a helping hand in buying sports equipment in different cities nationwide, FOX News reported.
With the NBA season happening very soon, O’Neal will perform behind the desk on his TNT’s NBA shows.
