Suffering Painful Blisters and “Ingrown Toenails” Due to Abnormal Size, High School Football Player Offered Relief by Shaquille O’Neal

The player roster in the NBA has consisted of players as short as 5’2″ to 7’7″ tall. While either extreme has its own set of disadvantages, what set these players apart is their adaptive game style. Shaquille O’Neal was one of the players who had a unique built and yet dominated on the court. Being a little over 7 feet tall the Lakers star has a much bigger shoe size than that of the tallest player in NBA history.

Big Diesel has a shoe size of 22 and it’s only understandable that he would empathize with the problems of having such large feet. Recently a high school football player, Eric Kilburn Jr. from Michigan went viral for his size 23 feet. The 6’10” fourteen-year-old has been wearing crocs for 2 years since he could not find a pair of shoes that fit until Reebok stepped up to help.

Shaquille O’Neal calls Kilburn Jr. to offer help

The four-time NBA champion is still recovering from his recent hip replacement procedure but that has not stopped him from showering others with kindness. Upon hearing Eric’s story, Reebok and Shaquille offered to help him in getting new shoes. 

For someone as big as Shaquille, this issue is quite relatable. He personally called Eric to offer support in any way possible since the family could not afford to get Eric custom shoes. 

After getting turned away by brands like Nike and Adidas, Reebok came forward to help. The brand formerly had an endorsement deal with Shaquille as well. On hearing young Eric’s plight, the shoe brand sent him five pairs of Shaq’s custom-made shoes.  

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Reebok even released a statement sharing the young player’s relief. The statement said, “Eric’s been thrilled to be able to wear these shoes and even shared with us for the first time in years he couldn’t believe he even had options on different colorways and styles he could wear.”

More brands came forward to offer their services

The high-schooler has been struggling with “painful calluses, blisters, and ingrown toenails due to wearing shoes that don’t fit.” The football player could not play this season because he did not have cleats his size, and has been wearing Crocs even during extremely cold weather.

Following Reebok’s footsteps, brands like Under Armour and Puma have offered to make custom shoes and cleats for Eric, and Cat footwear even offered to send boots. 

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Shaquille’s generosity reminds us of his statements and gestures through the years. He has stated on numerous occasions that it costs nothing to be nice and that’s how he wants to be remembered.  We hope that young Eric has found some relief with his new shoes and gets back on the field soon. And also hope for Shaq’s speedy recovery. 

Comment below your favourite Shaq act of kindness!