Shaquille O’Neal has cultivated the image of a larger-than-life individual, on and off the court. However, the NBA legend has been one of the most charitable players in the manner and capacity in which he gives back to the community.
O’Neal’s reputation as a shrewd businessman precedes him. Having expanded his portfolio in various directions, the big man is a brand in and of himself. In this regard, the former NBA player also launched a line of sneakers, specifically targeted at catering to and providing a much more affordable option for struggling families.
The experience of listening to the frustrations of a mother struggling to buy Jordans for her son was enough motivation for O’Neal to decline his deal with Reebok to start his line of shoes. His brand of affordable sneakers became readily available in Walmart, and in due time, even at a $15-$30 price point, the brand managed to sell over 400 million shoes.
The sale of the SHAQ brand of shoes had a massive impact on the community. And to take things a step further, in a recent video uploaded by “Hot Freestyle”, O’Neal donated several pairs of sneakers to the 2,000 children at the Camp Grace organization.
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:DKKnvKUu7fZ
The video displays a narrator thanking O’Neal for his donation. While filming the semi-truck carrying the shipment, they said:
“Today is the day of delivery. We call them our Shaq shoes. Shaquille O’Neal was kind enough to help us put a new pair of shoes on all of our 2,000 kids, and you see the shoes lined up here, and I think we have 14 pallets of shoes, and you talk about a blessing, and these kids are absolutely gonna go crazy.”
The narrator added to this by highlighting the qualities that they try to instill in the children.
“What we do is we just teach these kids how to serve others, and we serve them. We wash their feet,” they said. “We put a new pair of shoes and socks on every child, and you can see here we’re unloading a semi-truck of shoes for Camp Grace, and we’ve been doing this now, this is our seventh year.”
O’Neal’s kindness and charitable acts have been considered noteworthy, especially considering the extent the big man is willing to go to help people. From picking up a massive tab for diners at a restaurant in New York to gifting PS5s and Nintendo Switches to underprivileged kids, he remains a paragon of generosity.
