Athletes are always at risk of injuring themselves whether it be on the court or a field. Following the recovery update on the Damar Hamlin situation, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal felt that the NFL star should take it slow and heal in peace without having the urge to return back the field as soon as possible. He then recalled his own terrifying situation concerning his son Shareef O’Neal. Therefore, the four-time NBA champion felt that athletes should not be pushed to get back in the game any time soon after life-threatening encounters. Additionally, the Los Angeles Lakers legend also made a revelation that proved his great parenting skills.

Shaquille O’Neal and ex-wife Shaunie’s eldest son Shareef O’Neal underwent surgery back in 2018. According to TMZ Sports, Shareef, who was 18 years old at the time, learned about an irregularity in his heart after he went through a routine checkup at UCLA. Recalling the panic-stricken moment, the Big Aristotle opened up about it in one of his podcast episodes.

Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t need his sons to become NBA players

In the latest episode of the Big Podcast with Shaq, Shaquille O’Neal and co-host Nischelle Turner welcomed former NBA star Jamal Crawford to their chat session. The Hall of Famer talked about the entire situation regarding his son, right from experiencing heart-related issues to the surgery. Consequently, Crawford asked him if he motivated his son to get back on the court or told him it wasn’t necessary.

Shaq replied that he made sure to let his kids know that they are not obligated to become basketball players. They could instead be a lawyer or a doctor and the decision was completely up to them. The proud father of six praised his children and called them perfect.

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“I always tell them, ‘Listen my man, you just need something to fall back on. When it’s all set and done, you need something to fall back on’. But the fact that he’s keep fighting and he’s still trying to pursue his dream makes me proud of that. Whether he makes it big time, whether he doesn’t make it or not,” Shaq told his Crawford and Turner.

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Turner then asked Shaq how he was feeling as a father when Shareef was going through the situation. Evidently, the 15x NBA All-Star admitted that it was a terrifying situation for him.