The 4x NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal had a disordered childhood. Shaq is the son of Lucille O’Neal and Joseph Toney but in his early years, Toney wasn’t around much. He ended up in jail because of drug possession and that prompted Shaq and his mother to move on. Decades later, Shaq reunited with his biological father, and they rekindled their strained relationship. Although it could never be a typical father-son relationship, Shaq had found another father figure early in his life.

Sergeant Phillip A. Harrison took care of Shaq and his mother in those tough times. He also instilled discipline and a work ethic into that young boy who went on to become one of the greatest basketball players of all time. But that is not all that the Big Man is grateful for, he recently talked about his father’s beatings and how it made him a better person.

Shaquille O’Neal gives a message on the importance of tone

Shaq proudly says that he is a product of his upbringing. All the hardships and being disciplined at home made him tough and prepared him for life. The 51-year-old was recently on the I AM ATHLETE show where he discussed the importance of tone in someone’s voice. The topic was brought up by one of the hosts on the show while they were talking about Dak Prescott, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. LeSean ‘Shady’ McCoy, a host on the show said that Prescott “is a**.” He later tried to backtrack on his words.

The LA Lakers legend said that this type of tone might hurt people even when you are putting across a genuine point. The 15x NBA all-star then talked about beatings from his father’s belt that he received while growing up. Shaq said “I’m glad he did” referring to the disciplining that he was put through as a child. He then proceeded to present an example by saying “Get your a** outta here” in different tones in order to prove his point. “Listen to what I say before you listen to how I say it,” he added.

Although the Big Aristotle’s wisdom was all over the place with his examples, the outtake of this will depend on the perspective from which it is being received.

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Sergeant Harrison gave the NBA one of its biggest stars

The impact of Shaquille O’Neal in the NBA and beyond is undeniable. He is one of the biggest names in the game even after a decade after his retirement. Although Shaq led this journey, there are other people who have made massive contributions to the beloved star that we know today. Shaq credits his father for making him tough and for making him understand that ‘good enough’ isn’t what his goal should be. Shaq had said in an interview earlier, “Growing up in a drill sergeant environment, my dad wasn’t you know satisfied with good enough. So, we had to damn near perfect.”

As tough as it might have been on a young kid with talents, the hard work has surely paid off and how.

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