The 7’1″ giant turns gentle the moment it is about his loved ones. Shaquille O’Neal shares a deep connection with his mother and daughters. However, when it comes to his romantic relationships, he insists on one strict rule for women. It caused much controversy when the 4x NBA champ declared it on his podcast. And exactly after a year, this particular opinion of his on women remains the same. Some wise words from his guest on the podcast didn’t seem to convince him!

The 15x NBA All-Star turned social media upside down when he claimed that he doesn’t open up to women in an emotional sense. “When a man opens up to a woman sometimes a woman takes advantage of that so I don’t think men should open up to women a lot,” O’Neal claimed.

In a conversation with Ms. Pat on The Big Podcast, he asked the famous comedian’s opinion on his claims. “A real woman would take you and she would take whatever you get her and she would continue to mold you and the relationship,” Ms. Pat said. She has been married to Garrett Lee for 20 years. She shared her experience with her husband and suggested that he should open up to women he trusts.

However, Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t convinced even a little bit and said, “I’m not opening up to no woman.” He further added, “Mine is based a little different. So women….You work hard and you have to do a little bit more than I do. I don’t want to put that pressure on you. As a man I’m supposed to be able to handle that pressure.” 

Furthermore, she also gave an example of her marriage. Well, even after the monologue full of wise words on relationships, it didn’t seem to convince the basketball legend. While he does say that he hasn’t emotionally opened up to anyone, the 4x NBA champ has close ties with his mother.

Shaquille O’Neal’s bond with his mother Lucille O’Neal 

The Los Angeles Lakers player has often expressed how his mother influences his life both on and off the court. Kindness is one of the attributes that he learned from his mother Lucille O’Neal and father, Phillip Arthur Harrison. And while on the court, his competitiveness is driven by his one determination, which is to make his mother happy.

“So when I’m playing, I’m on that court, you can’t outplay me because if you are, you’re taking my mother’s house away and I can’t have that. So I will damn near kill you before I let you take my mother’s house away,” O’Neal once said.  He has always detailed how his mother worked hard to raise him as a teen mother. 

In an episode of The Rising Star, he opened up about the tough time their family went through when O’Neal’s sister Ayesha passed away after a battle with cancer. While he shared that the entire family was a mess, it was his mother who held them together. “That’s our sister, but that’s her daughter. But she cried for a couple seconds and then she see us crying and she got right back to it. Like, ‘Mommy, I’m the man of the house. You go ahead and cry,’” O’Neal said on the podcast.

It seems that while O’Neal likes to keep a barrier for his emotions in a romantic relationship, the basketball legend does open up emotionally to his mother.