Shaquille O’Neal gave his take on the sensitive issue of professional athletes’ mental health struggles which many believe they use to mask their deficiencies on the court. In fact, Big Diesel encouraged athletes to implement mental fortitude to tackle problems of the mind instead of using them as a shield to shirk responsibility. Shaquille O’Neal also revealed his personal struggles with mental health issues to better illustrate his viewpoints.

The most recent episode of Shaq’s Big Podcast featured a special guest, Liz Beecroft, a licensed psychotherapist, and social worker. In this special episode of the podcast, Beecroft delved into the stigma surrounding pro athletes talking about their mental health struggles.

During the conversation, Shaquille O’Neal often chimed in with his own experiences on the subject. As a matter of fact, the Lakers legend displayed a more traditional outlook on the matter. The 50-year-old NBA legend seemed to prioritize mental fortitude in the battle against mental health struggles.

Shaquille O’Neal talks about players using mental health as an excuse

Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he’s not very empathetic to wealthy athletes using their mental health struggles to shirk criticism for their deficiencies. “I do not want people who can’t step up to the plate, step up to the greatness, to use the MH for an excuse.” said the four-time NBA champion.

“Maybe I’m hard. Maybe I’m wrong,” he added. However, he refused to condone the misuse of mental health as a cop-out for mediocrity.

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As it turns out, Shaq adopted a dismissive demeanor to wealthy, established athletes talking about their psychological struggles. According to the 2000 MVP, athletes who roam around with $300k chains and leather outfits shouldn’t complain about mental health issues while the homeless people in America suffer in silence.

Shaq’s struggle with mental health issues

Meanwhile, Liz Beecroft contested Shaquille O’Neal’s opinion that athletes shouldn’t complain about their psychological problems. In other words, Beecroft explained that pro athletes, no matter how wealthy, can be equally vulnerable to mental trauma as an average person.

In response, Shaq deferred to her professional opinion but used himself as an example to support his argument. Incidentally, the 15-time All-Star used to deal with anger issues in the past. Moreover, the 7’1″ giant also had to deal with ADHD, as he has admitted in the past.

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But instead of complaining, Shaq worked on his issues in silence. And subsequently, transformed his mindset to achieve exorbitant amounts of success in his career.

Do you agree with Shaq’s take? Let us know in the comments.