Shaquille O’Neal was all about having a good time right from a young age, and it was up to his parents to make sure that O’Neal was somewhat kept in check. Shaq suffered what could have been a devastating blow early in his childhood, as his biological father wasn’t a part of his life, but it became a blessing of sorts, as his stepfather Phillip Arthur Harrison played a big role in him becoming the man he is today.
Shaq owes a lot to Harrison’s guidance at various points in his life. Whether it be during his high school days when he told Shaq to start playing up to size and not try to be Magic Johnson or during his NBA career when he took O’Neal to see a homeless family to show what pressure is really like when Shaq told him he wasn’t able to handle the pressure of a game. O’Neal once recounted another instance of his father teaching him a lesson during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
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“I worked at McDonald’s one day. When I was a youngster my father said you babysit your siblings or you go to work. I said I’m not babysitting no kids. I went to work one day and I was like I quit. That’s why I respect the people that have real jobs because that’s hard hard work.”
He learned to respect the people who actually have to go out there and do the kind of jobs that he would never have to because of his basketball talents. A lot of these experiences would also explain why O’Neal has always been so willing to help out people who are less fortunate than he is.
Shaquille O’Neal Once Hired His Father To Work For Him After Learning How Much He Made In The Army
While we often hear stories about how Shaquille O’Neal helped out people in need, he also, of course, went to great lengths to take care of his own family. When he learned that Harrison, an army Seargent, made $60,000, he hired his father to work for him and paid him $500,000 a year.
He also hired his mother and made sure that both of them understood the tasks handed to them. Harrison passed away in 2013, and Shaq has ensured that he fulfilled a promise he made to him by continuing to take great care of his entire family.
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