You thought that a single warning from Shaquille O’Neal was the end of it. Nope. Shaq has doubled down on his threat to RG3. To recap, Robert Griffin III claimed Angel Reese’s friends told him she hated Caitlin Clark. Reese called him a liar, and Shaquille O’Neal threatened him with consequences if he kept it up. There were others who slammed the former NFL pro, and Shaq has now explained why he jumped on the bandwagon.

O’Neal did a live recording of the Straight Game Podcast this month where host and Aces coach, Tyrone Ellis hyped him for standing up for Angel Reese. “I love how you stood up for her against that one dude,” he said. The live audience immediately broke into applause for Shaq as even Ellis paused to clap for him.

Ellis initially asked how he became Reese’s mentor and went to bat for her. “She plays with a certain spirit, with a certain ferocity, and I respect that about her,” O’Neal initially said. The Lakers legend has been defending her from haters since 2023, when Reese led LSU to the NCAA championship.

After describing how Reese follows his advice, Shaq said, “I don’t stick up for her all the time but the old dude was just taking it too far.” That ‘old dude’ was Robert Griffin III. While he did not name names, Griffin is the only “old dude” he has beefed with wrt Angel Reese.

Although the likes of Ryan Clark, Brandon London, Shannon Sharpe, Chad Ochocinco and more called out Griffin as well, O’Neal told Ellis, “She really didn’t have anybody backing her. So I had to let him know just leave her alone.”

Reiterating his original ‘threat,’ Shaq said, “I don’t mind people doing their podcast and all that but he just kept going 1,2,3,4,5. And I was like ‘listen, my man, leave her alone.’ It kind of felt like bullying. You know she don’t need to be going back and forth for the man. So I just had to let him know.”

Ellis pointed out that Dr. Shaquille O’Neal’s phraseology was way different back then but “the message was crystal clear.” After all, Griffin did cross a boundary and was called out by multiple personalities for his comments.

The ‘old dude’ crossed a line for Shaquille O’Neal

In May 2025, the Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky matchup erupted another off-court controversy. Robert Griffin III posted a podcast clip with his wife, Grete Griffin egging him on in the background, as he fueled the narrative that Angel Reese hated Caitlin Clark. Reese and Clark publicly refuted that their rivalry goes beyond healthy competition.

Amid other analysts piling on Griffin, Reese slammed RG3 for allegedly lying that he confirmed the CC tidbit with Reese’s friends. However, things got ugly when Griffin posted a picture of the NBA 2k26 cover with a monkey over Reese’s face. He was actually criticizing it, but fans got mad at him for bringing attention to it.

That was Shaq’s final straw. In a July appearance on the Off the Record podcast, O’Neal said, “RGIII: Tweet another monkey post about my girl Angel Reese and I’m gonna punch you in your f****** face.” As Ellis said, Shaq didn’t hold back.

O’Neal even said he personally told Reese not to respond to Griffin anymore, which is why it felt like the feud had died down. Again, as Ellis said, message received.