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Earlier this month, Shaquille O’Neal found himself in a social media spat withKanye West, but the 50-year-old basketball legend was able to stay above the fray — thanks to his commitment to keeping his mother happy.
The brief back-and-forth began when O’Neal addressed Kyrie Irving’s recent controversy on TNT’sInside the NBA. O’Neal called Irving, who has been criticized for promoting a film widely regarded as antisemitic, an “idiot,” adding that the Brooklyn Nets point guard isn’t “conscious” and doesn’t care who he offends. (Irvinghas since apologized.)
By the standards of O’Neal’s ultra-competitive playing days, as well as hisone-time feud with the late Kobe Bryant, West’s response could have meant war. But the father of six and subject ofSHAQ, HBO’supcoming four-part docu seriespremiering Nov. 23, kept things brief and “classy” in afinal tweet, advising the rapper to get his family business in order and “have a great day.”
Shayan Asgharnia
“People are lucky she’s still on Earth,” O’Neal continues, “because if she wasn’t here, I’d be f—ing reckless. I really would.”
O’Neal admits a bit of online jawing back and forth doesn’t bother him, but there are limits to his good graces. “I like to play,” he says. “But if it ever gets personal, I’m coming to see you. I don’t do the little kid games. The fact that [West] messed his whole life up —hedid it. Nobody else did it. These narcissistic people, when they mess up it’s everybody else’s fault.”
For now, O’Neal, who calls himself a “classy individual,” is happy to tend to his own business —including a recent contract extension with TNTrumored to be in the nine-figure range. But if the sniping starts again, he more or less knows how it will end:
“‘Yes, ma’am,’ " he feigns responding. “And that’s it.”
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source: people.com
