When you think of trash-talking in the history of sports, the first name that comes to mind is probably Muhammad Ali. The champ is in a class of his own and I don’t think anyone will come close to dethroning him in that regard. However, we have seen quite a few others in sports that shoot from the lip with regularity as well. One who has largely flown under the radar is Shaquille O’Neal, who is releasing a tell-all book entitled “Shaq Uncut: My Story”, where he gives his account of his 19 years in the Association, while taking shots at former teammates and contemporaries along the way.
During his playing days, there wasn’t a verbal battle that Shaq wasn’t willing to engage in. But for the most part, people wouldn’t spar back with him, probably due to his imposing nature. While still in L.A., he referred to the then rival Sacramento Kings as the “Sacramento Queens.” I don’t recall anyone from the Kings responding. He has also gone at coaches, taking a shot at his former Miami coach, Stan Van Gundy. It would take about three days to sit here and recall all of his run-ins during his playing days, but I will say that he has had issues with former great teammates such as Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant (of course) and Dwyane Wade. What was the common denominator in each instance? Shaq.
Because he routinely gave great soundbites, Shaq never really came under scrutiny for possibly being the reason why he had so many problems with teammates. And due to his charismatic demeanor, all of his trash talking was chalked up to “Shaq being Shaq.” He has gotten a pass in that regard like no one I have ever seen before. Nobody else would be able to get away with the things Shaq has said throughout his career.
Whenever the NBA season begins, as you know, he’ll be a part of the TNT crew and I have my reservations. Not a single soul will tune in to hear Shaq analyze basketball because his monotone will likely put people to sleep. “Inside The NBA” will be popular because Shaq will undoubtedly take verbal shots at guys, which will make for good television. In fact, during his broadcasting debut, he didn’t waste any time before going at Chris Bosh…completely unprompted.
Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen several excerpts from this new book. In each instance, it’s Shaq going after a player. I’ve lost count, but here are the few I remember coming across:
Kareem was never around. And, whenever I did see him, he usually ignored me. The disappointing thing to me was, being in L.A. all those years and trying to fill those shoes, I would have liked to have a conversation with him … He’d say hello, but I was looking for, ‘Hey, do this’ or ‘Watch out for that.’ He knew everyone was comparing me to him. He knew better than anyone what I was up against, but he gave me nothing.
“Some guys come into the league without a ton of props, so there’s not a whole lot of pressure on them. Then they sign a big deal and all of a sudden they’re thrown into the spotlight. Chris Bosh is like that. He’s getting all this attention, so he starts believing he’s really good. C’mon now. We know better. He’s a player who can put up some numbers, but he’s not an elite player. He was in Toronto eight years and they were never a factor, never a playoff team. Don’t get with those other two guys and start pounding your chest. I ain’t buying it, and I’m not the only one.”
“I wasn’t surprised at all when he got traded. Nate [Robinson] was always trying to get noticed by the public. He was always tweeting videos of himself punking his teammates … Some people are a little too focused on Twitter and Nate was one of them. He was too worried about how many followers he had. He kept saying, “Shaq, I need more people. Help me out.”
“Dwight Howard and I don’t really have a relationship. I don’t like people who lack originality. The whole Superman thing doesn’t work for me…
It’s kind of weird how he’s handled his career. He wants to be Superman. They’re talking about him going to L.A. when his contract is up.
When I go back to the Orlando area in the offseason, they are doing all the same things for him they did for me. But that’s a mistake. He’s Dwight Howard. He’s not Shaq. Be your own man. Create your own brand.“
“Our coach, Mike Brown, was a nice guy, but he had to live on the edge because nobody was supposed to be confrontational with LeBron,” O’Neal wrote. “Nobody wanted him to leave Cleveland, so he was allowed to do whatever he wanted to do.”
I think you get the point.
For someone as historically great as Shaquille O’Neal, this book seems pretty petty and beneath him. Usually when former players pen a tell-all book, it’s so that they can cash in. But Shaq is one of only three player ever to earn multiple $100M+ contracts during a playing career, with the others being Michael Vick and Alex Rodriguez (but A-Rod’s were both of the $200M+ variety, but why split hairs?). Not to mention that he has been the pitch man for countless brands. So I really fail to believe that he’s doing this for the money. So what else could it be? All I know is that it makes him look very small and is something that he will be remembered for. But, not in a good way by me.
Many will view this book along the same lines as his funny out-takes during his playing days. But at what point does he stop getting a pass?
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
