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“My Mom Called Me at 4 O’Clock in the Morning..”: NFL Veteran Opens Up to Shaquille O’Neal and Nischelle Turner on Facing Heartbreaking Deaths in His Family

Published 01/07/2023, 4:50 PM EST

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NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, NFL veteran Spice Adams, and media personality Nischelle Turner co-host the Big Podcast with Shaq. In the sit-down, they talk about all the important topics around the sports world and some interesting things happening around the world. The co-hosts also sometimes share their experiences in relation to the topic in discussion. Recently, the Los Angeles Lakers legend and Adams talked about handling deaths in the family while playing professionally.

In the wake of the new year, Shaq, Adams, and Turner welcomed their fans with New Year wishes. After that, they went straight to business talking about a variety of important topics.

Shaquille O’Neal and Spice Adams on the conditioning of athletes

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In the latest episode of the Big Podcast with Shaq, Shaquille O’Neal and Spice Adams touched on the conditioning, life, and demands of a professional athlete using some personal instances. Shaq stated that the life of an athlete usually starts at a very young age. He added that an athlete would be working on his craft and playing the sport from little league to high school to college and finally the league if one is lucky. The four-time champion noted that an athlete is always conditioned to play irrespective of the circumstances. He then recounted the time when his grandmother passed away.

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Even though he wanted to take some time off, he felt his grandmother would have wanted him to continue playing. So the four-time champion played the game. Spice Adams then talked about an unfortunate incident during his playing career in 2010. Adams said, “In 2010, I got a call from mom. I’m at training camp, my mom called me 4’0 clock in the morning. I’m like this can’t be good. She called me and said my aunt passed away.”

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He noted that he informed his coach about the loss and the coach asked him to take his time. Adams then added while he was on his way to pick up his grandfather for the funeral, his grandfather passed away too. The former Chicago Bears Defensive Tackle stated that he had to go through the loss of two close family members in two weeks and then be prepared when the season began. He noted that athletes are conditioned to block out pain and emotion once they are on the field.

The crew on Damar Hamlin’s injury

Shaquille O’Neal and the crew talked about the heartbreaking situation of NFL star Damar Hamlin that has shocked the world. Turner talked about the incident and stated that the players blocking the cameras while Hamlin was receiving treatment is a sight she would never forget.

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The Los Angeles Lakers legend and his co-hosts expressed their relief at the positive updates about Hamlin’s recovery. As per recent reports, Hamlin was able to speak with his teammates and medical staff after the breathing tube was removed.

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Written by:

Bagavathi Eswaran

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Bagavathi Eswaran is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He has been playing the game of basketball for more than 20 years now and has also been following the NBA for more than 10 years. After not being able to go pro, this former college player decided to join the IT industry.
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Edited by:

Satagni Sikder