Shaquille O’Neal is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and a four-time NBA champion. Shaq was a two-time NBA scoring champion and a 15-time All-Star. He accomplished everything on the basketball court and was named to the NBA’s 75th anniversary team. Phillip Harrison, an Army drill sergeant, was Shaq’s father figure growing up while Toney, his biological father, was not present in his life.
He recently opened up about how his father taught him discipline from a young age to help him get on the right path. O’Neal also spoke about how the sudden death of Boston Celtics rookie Len Bias affected him and his father. Shaq appreciates his father for keeping him from getting involved in drugs and bad company.
Shaquille O’Neal talks about the impact of Len Bias’ death on him and his father
“I respect him more because he raises someone else’s child – and he disciplines that child as if it were his own child.” Shaquille O’Neal told The Undefeated in 2016. “Without him, I wouldn’t be here today. I’m glad he did. I did stupid things, stole cars, hung out with mean people, and hung out in places where drugs were present. Shaq’s stance remained unchanged as he revealed how “The doors have started to open” after learning to listen to Harrison at home during a recent visit to the Pivot Podcast.
Shaquille O’Neal said he had no idea Harrison was not his biological father until he was 11 and that Harrison died in 2013. Since then, he has met Joseph Toney, his biological father, who ‘gave up when Shaq was a kid. The giant man explained that he had no hard feelings. “The worst thing I ever experienced was the death of Len Bias.” Shaq remembers. Len Bias was a former basketball player who died of a cocaine-induced heart attack at the age of 22. Harrison walked into the house like Bias was Shaq’s brother and started going crazy, according to O’Neal. Then he cried, grabbed Shaq and said: “If I ever catch you doing coke, I will kill you.”
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O’Neal understands that times have changed and spanking is no longer effective. He says that since becoming a father, he has become a nicer person…