Seemingly people do learn from their parents. Sometimes, we learn to not be like them and sometimes we imbibe from them. In this case, Shaquille O’Neal admitted that he wouldn’t do what his father did. And yet, he was grateful for it.

“I won’t do that with my children“, said Shaq, commenting on his father’s disciplinarian measures. Phillip Harrison was an Army Sergeant who raised the future NBA champion. Shaq confessed that his stepdad “corporally punished” him, something that people may today find unacceptable. Shaq continued and said that those people may regard his behavior as the “a-word”.

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Though these alleged violent measures “worked” for Shaquille O’Neal, he wouldn’t do that to his children. He said that it was important for Harrison to humble him. According to Shaq, Harrison wanted to ensure his stepson obey him implicitly even if Shaq was 6’9″.

His interactions with his late stepdad were brought to the fore by the NBA legend. On one occasion, Harrison hurled a ball that bounced from Shaq’s face. In another, he threatened to kill Shaq if he consumed drugs. He had no words of comfort for Big Diesel when the latter couldn’t handle the pressure of the game. Instead, he was given a brutal reality check by his stepdad who took him to a family housing to show the real problems of the world.

Shaquille O’Neal was grateful for Harrison

Shaq, however, is convinced that it shaped his mental attitude going forward. It cultivated a mindset that would later help form a great professional trajectory for him.

There was another account of Phillip Harrison coming to Shaq’s classroom and allegedly beating him. Shaq said, “But I was a major, high-level, juvenile delinquent that could have definitely been in trouble all the time”. The Los Angeles Times covered the story in 1992 under the title, ‘The Sergeant took disciplinary action to stop Shaq attack’.

The basketball player believed that whatever Harrison did had to be done to tame the “stubborn” young Shaq.

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It’s clear that his stepdad has had a major influence on Shaquille O’Neal. Even if he doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps, it seems like Shaq still looks to his stepdad for his parenting style.