Mother Lucille’s Strongly Worded Advice Changed Shaquille O’Neal’s Life

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has millions of followers around the world. Thanks to his achievements on the court and his success outside the basketball court, he is easily one of the most recognizable faces in the world.

Shaq is known for his philanthropy and the work he does for society. Another admirable trait of Shaq is that he never discriminates among people.

O’Neal has talked about the issue of racism and how he doesn’t let it affect him multiple times in the past. Interestingly, in his book, ‘Shaq Talks Back‘, the 4-time NBA champion reflected upon his mother’s teachings. He talked about how Lucille O’Neal gave him a valuable lesson on judging people.

Shaq said, “I never disliked white people when I was young. And to this day, I was raised to believe there are two kinds of people in this world: good people and bad people. But I saw Roots a couple times when I was a kid, and that movie based on Alex Haley’s book about the slavery in his family’s past really left an impression on me.“

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“My mother saw how it affected me and finally took me aside one day. “Times have changed,” she said. “You just have to take people for what they’re worth. All white people ain’t like that no more”, wrote the Los Angeles Lakers legend.

Shaquille O’Neal helps complete his mother’s education

NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has a trophy cabinet like no other. However, he couldn’t have achieved any of it without the help of his family. 

To this day, Shaq thanks his mother and stepfather for giving him the right values and raising him to be the person he is today. Lucille O’Neal faced major hardships while raising her family. She had to leave her education aside for this reason.

In a heartwarming story narrated by O’Neal himself, Lucille asked for Shaq’s help in order to complete her education. “Can I borrow some money to go back to school…My mother got her bachelor’s, her master’s, and her doctorate” said Shaq.

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