"'If I catch you doing this, I will kill you now... So the drugs don't kill you; I will" - Shaquille O'Neal opens up on how his father made him stay away from drugs
During his latest appearance on Impaulsive podcast, basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal revealed how his father kept him away from drugs. His father's influence definitely went on to have a positive influence on Shaquille as he went on to carve an all-time great basketball career.
Having spent his childhood in a not-so-ideal environment where drug consumption was commonplace, it wouldn't have been difficult for O'Neal to fall into that trap and destroy his budding career. However, it was his father's stern warning that kept him on his toes and away from the bad stuff. Shaquille earned $292 million in salary while playing basketball and then went on to become a business mogul after his retirement. It's safe to say that his father's strict threat worked out well for him in the long run.
Staying away from drugs helped Shaquille carve out a successful life
Shaquille O'Neal is one of the most successful personalities in the world. However, while growing up, the basketball sensation had to escape the big bad world of drugs. O'Neal's father had a very strict eye on his son's whereabouts and would always warn his son about the bad effects of consuming hard drugs like Cocaine.
While appearing on Logan Paul's podcast, O'Neal stated the following:
Whenever an athlete did something crazy I would get in trouble. True story when I was 12/13 my father came home one day and he was crying and he said if I ever catch you messing with Coke, I will kill you. So I'm 13. I'm like 'dad, I'm a Pepsi guy'. But he wasn't playing, So there was a guy by the name of Lynn Byers, he was going to be the number one pick. And my father cried like Lynn was my brother, he cried so hard. Whenever people make a mistake he would use those stories to teach me and then he would end it with "if I catch you doing this, I will kill you now. Seriously. So the drugs don't kill you. I will."
The basketball Hall of Famer continued on how his parents made him understand the importance of education and staying grounded during his teenage days.
So I always had to focus on education, focus on business and when you're in the NBA, it's a fantasy world, but you get to live a good life and if you are responsible, you can continue to live that life. As you see I got on pajamas, I don't really have a job. That's that's because when I was 18 going into 19,20,30 I listened to my parents because they always said, hey man, education, education, business, business, business, partnership, partnerships, relationships. Be respectful and do the right thing.
Shaquille O'Neal and his Hall of Fame basketball career
Shaquille's father definitely saw the potential in his son and made him stay away from all the negative stuff in life. This definitely helped Shaq reach his potential. The big man went onto have one of the greatest careers in NBA history.
Shaquille O'Neal is one of the most decorated players in NBA history with four NBA championships, three finals MVPs, 15 All-Star nods and a regular season MVP. The 'Big Diesel' is arguably the most dominant player to play in the NBA.