"He had torn doors off the restroom" - Jerry West recalls Shaquille O'Neal getting furious after an embarrassing night
Fans may know Shaquille O'Neal for his mild-mannered, oftentimes hilarious, shenanigans on the sets of Inside the NBA, but that wasn't always the case. During his playing career, Shaquille O'Neal loved pranking his teammates but simply couldn't help let his emotions fly at times.
While he couldn't recall the specific game the incident occurred, Hall of Famer Jerry West recently recalled an instance when O'Neal got ejected from a game. At the time, O'Neal didn't take that well and flew off the rails in the bathroom, destroying it by ripping doors off the hinges.
The 1972 NBA champ spoke about the situation, and a few other moments in O'Neal's career, during a recent appearance on the Rich Eisen Show.
"I remember another time he gets kicked out of the game, and I go into the locker room to see how he was, and he had torn the doors off of the restroom areas that are protected.
"He said to me, 'I'll be happy to pay for it.' I said 'No you can't pay for it, but how in the world can someone be this strong to rip these doors off?' I mean it was crazy."
Given that O'Neal was ejected from many games throughout his career, it's no surprise that narrowing down the incident is difficult. Nevertheless, there was an article in 1996 that may be in reference to what West was talking about.
Shaquille O'Neal's destruction of LA Lakers bathroom in 1996
In his first season with the LA Lakers during the 1996-97 NBA season, Shaquille O'Neal fouled out of a game.
At the time, he was frustrated with what he believed to be unfair treatment from NBA officials. Hence, he took out his rage on the LA Lakers' locker room bathroom, nearly ripping a stall door off the hinges while smashing mirrors and throwing a chair.
The LA Times published an article at the time, which quoted an unnamed Lakers staff member who said that it sounded as though Shaq was going to destroy the whole room. Moreover, the article quoted O'Neal, who expressed his frustration to media members.
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I just don’t know what to do. A shame, huh? It’s amazing how some guys can get away with anything on me. But if I look at them (referees) funny, they call a technical and want to throw me out.
“I hate all that paying-my-dues stuff. I’ve paid my dues. I’ve been in this league for four years and 300 hundred games. They’re the only ones in this league who can stop me.”
Given that Jerry West cited several torn-off doors in the bathroom O'Neal destroyed, there may have been more than one incident where the famed center caused destruction.
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