Pecohub Shaquille O’Neal tackled an intriguing off-court subject on his “The Big Podcast” this past summer. At one point during the episode, Shaq was prompted to respond after his co-host stated that big-name NBA stars like him got into relationships with women in every city on the road.
According to “Shaq Daddy,” there is zero truth to that notion. O’Neal even revealed that he was curious to know if that was true, so he always waited for some girl to look for him when his team was on the road, but not one chick ever came out.
“That’s a myth,” O’Neal said. “I’ve been in a lot of lobbies — I didn’t see anybody. So I remember I was coming in; they did this ‘Esquire’ article about how the girls would be waiting out. So, I was looking for that. Never happened. Never happened. Trust me, I was the baddest on the road. It never happened. You go and you see people.”
Shaq on why NBA players find it hard to commit
As it turns out, O’Neal had already done some reflecting on the topic in the past. After thinking about it, the Hall of Fame center came up with a concrete theory that explains why NBA players can’t be in a serious or long-standing relationship with women when on the road during the season.
Based on Shaq’s explanation, the unconventional lifestyle of NBA players, which they did not choose, makes it difficult for them to commit to serious relationships with women.
What O’Neal was trying to imply is that an NBA player who is always on the move due to the nature of his work would really struggle to make a relationship work. It would all boil down to what the player is willing to invest in the relationship to compensate for what he lacks.
“The problem with us is when you live a certain lifestyle, and then it all shuts down, you only know what you know,” Shaq explained. “So, if you don’t know the rules of commitment, it’ll never work. And then, you know, us being not committed, everything is an excuse. Because once you say to somebody, ‘I’m going to commit,’ you’ve got to do your f–king job as a man. Right?”
“If you live a tiger lifestyle and then you try to become a tame tiger — it ain’t going to work,” he added. “It’s not going to work. So, you know, there’s a reason why the divorce rate is high. Because we live a — and not all of us — but like, we live a certain lifestyle. And a lot comes with it. And then when that’s all stopping, and you trying to go out and look for that, if you don’t understand their rules and understand their laws — it’ll never work.”
Shaq’s marriage history is a proof of this theory
Despite his theory, O’Neal managed to stay in a relationship during his playing years. He was married to Shaunie Henderson from 2002 to 2011, and they even had four children together.
Shaq then moved on and got engaged to Nicole Alexander from 2010 to 2013. However, the couple did not end up marrying each other. At one point, “The Big Aristotle” also had a relationship with Arnetta Yardbourgh, and they had a child together. Currently, Shaq is dating actress Annie Ilonzeh.
All told, it’s difficult to agree and disagree with O’Neal’s take on the topic. However, it’s also hard to imagine how a relationship would really work out if a player is constantly traveling and, in some cases, even consumed by his work and the lifestyle of being an NBA player, which is much different than what normal people would think.
