Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most entertaining NBA analysts out there, always making interesting takes while showing his big sense of humor (although he sometimes gets a little salty about some comments), and talking about the times he’s helped other people struggling.
Shaq has also opened up on his role as a parent and what he tries to do with his kids, even if sometimes his decisions raise some eyebrows. The 4x NBA champion has made it clear he wants his kids to learn the value of getting an education and working hard to get their own money, and he’s trying to make the right moves to make that happen.
During a recent episode of The Pivot Podcast, the legendary center opened up on his relationship with his kids and what he tries to teach them now that they’re young. O’Neal explained that he has a rule for the boys once they turn 18. After they hit that age, they must find another place to live, as for the girls, they are free to stay at home with Shaq for as long as they want.
“I like my girls a little bit better,” O’Neal admits, via People. “Because as a man you have to protect, provide and love your woman.”
“I trust them more because they’re more sensitive, they’re more caring and they’re thinkers,” he adds of his daughters. “You know how boys are. My boys, you bring something in front of them and they’re gone.”
“I tell my boys when y’all get 18 you all got to go. Girls can stay as long as they want,” he continues.
That would be a radical decision for anybody else, but Shaq isn’t joking when he says he wants his sons to try to find themselves somewhere else.
Asked if the former athlete was sincere in his response, O’Neal replies, “I’m dead serious.”
“[The girls] can stay as long as y’all want, take your time. Go to college, get your master’s, get your doctorate, I’ll pay for it, take your time,” he says.
You can say this is crazy or radical since people are just starting to live life at 18, but for Shaq, the picture is bigger. He has made sure that his boys have the tools to face the real world and stay fit to live on the wild planet we have now.
He has admitted he was raised with ‘tough love’ and wants to make his kids as strong as he was thanks to his parents. You can agree or disagree with the man, but there’s nothing that can change his mind. People like Dennis Rodman, Jimmy Butler, and Kris Dunn had to go to the streets way younger than 18, living by themselves. One would imagine Shaq has prepared his boys for that moment and they will be fine without his father.
