In his decorated NBA career, Shaquille O’Neal achieved it all. He left behind a rich legacy, one that roars at the mention of dominance. He accomplished everything, collected accolades, and shattered records. One would think Shaq can do no wrong. However, even he is human. Sadly, he has faced troubles in his personal life, most prominently his split with his ex-wife, Shaunie Henderson. Having moved to LA, Shaq was head over heels for the filmmaker. They tied the knot in a Beverley Hills wedding and enjoyed being a family with six kids until it all came crashing down in 2011.

Now married to pastor Kelon Henderson, Shaunie hadn’t spoken openly about her failed marriage with Shaq. In January, the creator of ‘Basketball Wives’ provided insight into her complicated relationship with the NBA legend which was met with a response. Having known him and Shaunie Henderson for years, super sports agent Leonard Armato provided his opinion on his former client’s response when speaking to our NBA correspondent Vishal Kolar in an exclusive interview on EssentiallySports FanCast.

Vishal: “I love that we’re on the topic of Shaq because what’s also relevant in the last few weeks is his ex-wife released a book that has gotten a lot of negative PR and among a lot of the things she wrote about, she, you know, said she was never in love with him. A lot of aspects of their relationship, I think. At  times like these, how do athletes, especially in Shaq’s stature, deal with handling this public outcry and fallout in their personal lives and how do you advise them strategy-wise on dealing with things like this because it’s really not under their control”

Armato: “I think Shaq’s handled the whole you know Shaunie’ book, divorce thing beautifully. I mean, he took responsibility for mistakes he made in the marriage for sure but I don’t know how that reflects unfavorably upon him when she says she never loved him because she married him. So how do you marry somebody that you never really love? That’s a little weird but I think Shaq was saying yeah, I understand how she feels and he basically didn’t take the bait and get into some you know back and forth and mudslinging. He just basically said, yeah, she’s right. I should have done things better and I take responsibility for the failed marriage. So you know again, I think he comes out looking good in the whole thing and really did handle things in the right way”

She had a sharp yet at the same time hurtful realization about her marriage. “Looking back, I don’t know that I was ever really in love with the man, but I was in love with the idea of being married to the man I had a family with,” she wrote in her memoir, Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning On My Own Terms.

Shaq responded to the claims via his social media, specifically Instagram. Instead of taking exception, he took accountability for his fatal errors. “I understand… I wouldn’t have been in love with me either. Wishing you all the best,” he wrote on his Instagram story. Armato viewed it as the ideal way to tackle the situation.

Shaq has previously admitted he wasn’t meant to be in a relationship. He has a bubbly and outgoing personality, a people pleaser some might call him. The temptations of Los Angeles and then Miami further disturbed Shaq’s commitment to the relationship. After nine years of marriage, Shaunie filed for divorce with the legendary center.

Shaunie understood Shaq wasn’t completely to blame

Shaunie Henderson did say she was unsure about the purity of her love for Shaq. Her statement invited major scrutiny, mostly from NBA and Shaq fans. However, it wasn’t all bad. Even though she faced infidelity, she never blamed Shaq. In fact, she sympathized with him.

“He was trying to be a world-famous, thirty-something multimillionaire with thousands of women throwing themselves at him, and people in general begging just to be in his presence, while being a husband and a father simultaneously,” she wrote in her book.

Since they split up, they have repaired their relationship and found a way to co-exist as friends. They continue to co-parent their six children and share a mutual respect for one another.

This was all there was from this segment of EssentiallySports FanCast conversation with Leonard Amrato. Be on the lookout for more stories from the hour-long interview.