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After Openly Mocking 6”10 Dwight Howard’s Recent Debut, Shaquille O’Neal Apologizes for “Hurting His Feelings” With Ironically Disguised Words

Published 12/04/2022, 3:10 PM EST

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Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard were two All-Time great centers who were drafted as the number one overall pick by the Orlando Magic, had a dominant stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, embodied the Superman moniker and absolutely dominated the paint. However, despite the above similarities, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard have had a rough relationship. Recently, Shaq took a dig at Howard after his debut with the Taoyuan Leopards in Taiwan’s T1 league. However, the Big Diesel was forced to apologized after his mother, Lucille O’Neal intervened.

The 4x NBA champion and Hall of Famer recently apologized to Howard for his comments. However, upon a close examination of O’Neal’s careful selection of words and phrasing, it is difficult to pinpoint the basis of the apology.

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Shaquille O’Neal apologizes to Dwight Howard after mother Lucille O’Neal’s intervention

Last week’s episode of The Big Podcast featured a scathing reaction from Shaquille O’Neal on Dwight Howard’s debut with the Taoyuan Leopards. Consequently, the Los Angeles Lakers legend faced major backlash following his comments on Howard. Among the many who disapproved of his remarks was his mother, Dr. Lucille O’Neal. Moreover, Mrs. O’Neal forced her superstar son to apologize to Howard for his insensitive comments.

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Subsequently, the Big Aristotle came through with his promise to his mother. He started this week’s episode of The Big Podcast with a humble admission of his wrongdoing.

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After apologizing to his fellow hosts, Nischelle Turner and Spice Adams, for not inviting them in Thanksgiving, Shaq quickly followed it up with a monologue on Howard. The Hall of Famer confessed to getting scolded by his mom for his comments on Howard. He said, “I got scolded by my mom yesterday for messing with Dwight, so Mr. Dwight Howard, I owe you an apology, and I will never hurt your feelings again.” 

Shaq’s humbling words are a fresh change in the heated exchange between the two centers. However, if one were to take stock of the wording of his apology, it becomes difficult to discern the basis of the apology.

From the looks of it, O’Neal is apologizing for hurting Howard’s feelings. However, the Big Aristotle never explicitly withdraws the harsh comments he made last week. Consequently, O’Neal’s convoluted phrasing opens the field wide open for interpretation. 

Dwight Howard’s passionate response to O’Neal’s comments

Shaquille O’Neal reignited the long-standing feud with Dwight Howard when he downplayed the 6’11” center’s new position. Howard’s stellar T1 debut with the Taoyuan Leopards earlier last month became the talk of the town. Howard recorded an absurd 38 points, 25 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 blocks against the New Taipei CTBC DEA.

However, the numbers weren’t enough to impress the 4x NBA champion. In a previous episode of The Big Podcast, O’Neal downplayed Howard’s numbers and the competition in Taiwan. The Big Diesel compared the T1 league to a Lifetime Fitness League. 

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Dwight Howard put out a passionate response following O’Neal’s comments. In the ten-minute video, Howard passionately expressed his frustrations with O’Neal’s casual dismissal of the Taiwan league.

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Consequently, Howard’s passion-filled inspiring words went viral on social media, causing major pushback against Shaq’s remarks. Incidentally, the word reached O’Neal’s mother, leading her to instruct her son to right his wrongs.

 

 

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Written by:

K Shrijith

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K Shrijith is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Currently pursuing his BBA degree, Shrijith has a keen interest in the world of finance. In fact, he has past experience in equity research and writing research reports on the subject of finance.
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Edited by:

Satagni Sikder