Mere days after Tiger Woods’ alleged scandal was out in public, many personalities shied away from the golf superstar. A number of sponsors cut ties with their ambassador after his public image was tarnished following the much-publicized news. However, one man was brave enough to stand alongside Woods during his tough times. That man was none other than NBA legend and current sports analyst, Shaquille O’Neal.

‘Big Shaq’ defends Tiger Woods

Back in 2009, Woods’ well-crafted image as a role model in golf evaporated the day he met with an accident. It snowballed into infidelity claims as the 15-time Major Championship winner battled public shame. At a time when lifetime sponsors were detaching themselves from Woods, a good friend and former NBA superstar stayed by his side.

Read more: Tiger Woods, Who’s Reportedly ‘Best Friends’ With His Ex-Wife Elin Nordegren, Once Revealed the Secret That Mended Their Relationship

While Shaq didn’t write off Woods’ unforgiving mistakes, he asked for the matter to be settled. “Tiger’s my guy,” Shaquille O’Neal said. “I’m not going to be like everybody else and say off-the-wall comments. I just hope he’s OK.”

The 7-foot former center also bemoaned the antics of the media. He believed reports on Woods’ case were disguised, which led to people presuming that the golfer was the bad guy. Shaq was referring to the multitude of televised shows and debates on Woods’ scandal during the calamitous time.

“The problem going on is when you have people disguising as media putting out reports, and then people believing what they read. We don’t know what’s fact, we don’t know what’s true. We just hope he’s OK,” Shaq said.

Was Woods at fault?

While the initial presumptions took everyone by surprise, the cat was eventually out of the bag. In a series of events, multiple women confessed to being in an affair with Woods at some point in time. Some media houses claimed an unprecedented number of women were associated, which left a dire image on the golfer.

Sure enough, the events broke the five-year marriage between Woods and Swedish model, Elin Nordegren. The pair were married in October 2004 in a lavish affair by the 19th hole of the Sandy Lane resort in Barbados. While the pair’s relationship broke under grim circumstances, the former couple have taken an active role in their children’s lives. It has since helped in repairing a fractured relationship, though the two have charted their own lives without the other.