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Shaquille O’Neal Defends LeBron James for Throwing Fans Out of NBA Game: “You F*cking Touch Me, I’m Gonna Break Your Mother F*cking Jaw”

Published 12/05/2021, 3:12 PM EST

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Fans can be overbearing at times. In the most recent of these incidents, two hecklers took a jibe at Lakers star LeBron James. In the aftermath of the encounter, the 17-time All-Star signaled to the referees, and ensured that the duo got ejected.

There were mixed reactions to the same –  while some people thought James should’ve played on, others believed that he was right in getting them sent out. However, former Laker Shaquille O’Neal defended LeBron, while believing that he should’ve taken a different route.

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An NBA veteran, Shaquille O’Neal  never backed down from a challenge. Both on and off the court, he was a fearless warrior. When tempted into it, he wouldn’t hesitate to throw around a few punches.

Meanwhile, James has seen enough in the league over the years. When the pair of fans decided to take a dig at him, he didn’t back down. However, instead of hitting back, he decided to take the safe way out.

Shaquille O’Neal shares how he would’ve reacted to LeBron James’ fan ejection incident

During an intense tussle against the Indiana Pacers, the Lakers had an edge in over-time. Citing some disturbance, the 36-year-old immediately called the referee and pointed towards the fans. After a short discussion, the officials decided to eject the duo, who didn’t take to it too kindly.

Addressing the same set of events on a recent podcast, O’Neal spoke about his worst experiences with fans. “Sacramento was probably the toughest city,” he claimed.

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via Getty

“And we go out before the games, and people would be talking about something and I said bro, I’m at like if I go out or something. But like bruh, say what you wanna say about the game, I’m eating these pancakes. You f*cking touch me, I’m gonna break you mother f*cking jaw.” 

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He proceeded to dish out how he would hit back at the fans, “I mean I either just make them shut up by whoever that player by busting their a** or busting his a**. Or I’m gonna throw a ball over there and I’m gonna dive on em.”

Clearly, O’Neal isn’t interested in keeping it civil. As you sow, so shall you reap. If you plant a negative sapling in the 49-year-old’s head, good luck getting out of it.

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Do you think LeBron should’ve also taken a different approach? Was he right in his assessment of the situation? Comment below.

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Written by:

Sankalp Harikrishnan

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Sankalp Harikrishnan is an NBA and Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. He aspires to pursue Sports Journalism and has represented his institution in cricket, badminton, soccer and table tennis. Sankalp idolises Roger Federer and Stephen Curry, and has an inherent love for statistics.
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