Shaq interview: Dad and a Knicks game changed my life forever

You were raised, you know, other than your grandmother's involvement in your

life

by your mother and your late stepfather who I know you love very much and I'll ask you in a moment, your biological father wasn't a part of your

life

, why wasn't there no interest on your part in having a relationship with him because you know the term stepfather? I don't really use my used father. uh, he's the guy that made me who I am. I'm in a big old house. Because of that man, I'm still relevant five years after playing because of that man.

I'm responsible because of that man, so I thought it would be disrespectful to meet another man, you know, especially then, you know, he passed away. a couple of years, you know, if the moment presents itself, I can greet you or thank you, but you know, a lot of people think that I have feelings of terror. No, sometimes I don't even think about it because you know. The guy that made me who I am today I owe it all to him and he just grew up in a military household. You have to have a lot of respect and I respect that.

I respect a man who walks into city hall and meets a lady. He has a son, he says, so he takes the lady and her son and he brings her two daughters and they have a family and raise a family. I respect the man who says, you know what, I have three kids, this job in the army doesn't pay. enough let me do some side jobs to get some money I respect the guy who says you know what we got to get my family out of Norc drugs are bad guys are starting to shoot and kill let's move to Georgia let's get a house get one land I respect the guy who says you know what, let's go to Germany I respect the guy who says after Germany, let's go to Texas and then you know, I respect the guy who works hard from paycheck to paycheck and we'll do whatever It takes my father to ask borrowed money to get Christmas gifts from my brothers and sisters.

The best gift he got me was autographed by Dr. J Ball. Dr. J was my man and you know my dad and I had a good enough relationship that if money was tight. He pushed me aside and I'm a great man. I have to take care of your sisters. I'm going to get them the Barbies and Barbie houses they want. I'm falling short. I'll get you next time. It was great, you know, as long as they're happy, I'm fine, so one morning everyone was opening presents and I thought I'm not going to get a gift and he opens the door, let's play ball, boom, and it was ball. from Dr.

J. and then a couple of weeks after that, keep in mind that I'm still Troublemaker, still a youthful disengager. A couple of weeks after that, he gets some tickets for Nick, they're not good tickets, we're on top. Dr. J puts on Baseline and throws it away. The crowd goes crazy. That's when I said. Well, that's what I want to do. I am a man of change from one day to the next. No more juvenile delinquents did better in school. They didn't get into trouble. They never had any problems with me after that day. What happened to that day?

Because as I. I knew I wanted to be a rapper. I wanted to be this. I know I wanted to be that, but when Dr. Jay did Baseline and the crowd went crazy, I thought: I want that, I want people screaming my name, that's what I want from that day on. I arrived and practiced every day, it still wasn't good practice, practice and that's when I learned to accept criticism and turn it into motivation juice, like instead of playing with boys I used to play with men because it was their size and They always used to say you're terrible, you suck, you never enter the draft, you're 13, you're 68, you can't shoot, sit on the side and then one day my dad comes in and runs, he's a college coach, I don't know who Dale Brown is LSU, he'll be there speaking and you know my dad was on scholarship because he couldn't afford to pay for school for any of us.

See, maybe he'll see, maybe he'll get a scholarship like, I don't wanna go lift your ass, come on, honey, Brown's talking and I'm in the back, in the back, 'cause you know everybody like it you know when you arrive. Up there you see the best players at the bottom of the gym and they're all sitting there showing off. I think I can't go up there with those guys, so I sit in the back. Dale doesn't talk to L and I have no idea what he's saying, so after the gym starts to fade, I go up to him and say, sir, can you help me strengthen my lower extremities?

What he said. I knew that word because before. That's what I got punished for and every time I got punished my dad made me stand on the wall like this and read a dictionary, so I found the word extremities and I said to Coach Brown, yeah, can you help me strengthen my lower extremities? It seemed like, yeah, how long have you been in the military, soldier, I said, I'm not in the military, I'm 13, it seemed like I was in the Middle East and I was there camping, he put a steak on the ground and he had the biggest rash. story oil, what he says, I'm only 13 years old, so he grabs me like it's a secret, where is your father, like I'm in a sauna, so he broke into the living room and they talked to my father and after that I never saw him again, but he wrote to me every week, every week, and if email wasn't available, I'll probably get emails every day like I do today, but he wrote to me every day, speeches ,

game

footage, this and that, and one letter said even if you become a basketball player or not, I'm going to give you a scholarship because I used to respond to them like, hey man, I did everything you said, I tried out for the team, they still said I'm lazy, I didn't make it.

I want to give up and he never gave up and sent me Martin Luther King speeches, but then following his advice, I'm starting to recover, so when I get to San Antonio, my youngest son. year I am a monster everyone in the country loves me now and now I see the light for more clips of this

interview

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