![]() "Guess who I am sittin' next to, Ma?" It had been forty years since she last saw him. The man that had impregnated her when she was still in high school. Suddenly, on her FaceTime, there he was. The man was sitting in Vonda's Kitchen, a restaurant in Newark New Jersey, underneath his tiny upstairs apartment. He had just been confronted with a reunion of sorts. He was sitting across from his estranged son, a man of immense size and fortitude. Soon after his son was born, this man had left the family. Sentenced to six years in jail for forgery, the mother of his child made major decisions without him. Living in Newark where drugs and crime were rampant, she was petrified her son would get caught up in the wrong element. She eventually met a soldier who was eager to be the father figure the young man would need if he were to avoid a life of drugs and poverty. Now, as she looked at the man who was in his seventies, who had himself navigated some very brutal addictions and heartbreaks, she was proud that her son was trying to reconcile and establish a connection to his long lost biological dad. "What's up, baby girl?" The ex-boyfriend tried to be friendly and casual though he knew there would always be some resentment and latent anger. But at this moment, the idea was to leave all that behind and reconnect, if only for a few moments. His name is Joe Toney and the big man holding up the cell phone was his son, Shaquille O'Neal. Shaquille had made the decision to confront his biological father and put his emotional baggage behind him. To allow both of them, and Shaq's mom, Lucille, to come to terms with their past. So Shaq and Toney came to terms. Toney was convinced he was hated, but Shaquille said no, "I never hated you. I had a good life. I had Phil." As they sat in the restaurant that Shaq had often visited as a way of reminding himself of his roots, the two men discarded all of the negativity, all of the resentment, and all of the clouds that could get in the way of their future. It was 2016 and both men had come a long way in life. Not too long after that meeting Joe Toney passed away. The man Shaq credits with being his real life father, Phillip Harrison was the soldier Lucille met and married when Shaquille was a two year-old. Phil Harrison would prove to be the "Game Changing" father figure to the unusually big boy. He was the disciplinarian, the motivator and the coach that gave the boy his direction. Together Lucille and Phillip would have three children of their own, and though they were forced to move a lot because of his military service, Phil was a rock of solidarity and stability for the Harrison family. Shaq's grandmother, Odessa Chambliss lived with the Harrison family, and also exerted significant influence on the growing young man. She said shortly after he was born, "This boy is special. He is going to be well known." She lived long enough to be corrected many times. She woefully underestimated the impact her little grandson would have. He would prove to be much more than "well known". Shaqille O'Neal would ultimately become a legend in his own time. Shaquille O'Neal has achieved more diversified success than anyone could have ever predicted. He was admittedly a skilled sports enthusiast. Besides basketball, he played baseball and football. He says he really loved football and thought there might be a future for him in that sport because of his size in high school and because he loved to run over people. But his stepfather was a former basketball player and always felt Shaq had the tools to be a great player, so he kept counseling Shaq on the finer points of the game. His continued progress from dominating in high school to becoming a two-time All American and two-time SEC Collegiate Player of the Year, led to him becoming the first overall pick for the Orlando Magic in the 1992 NBA draft. In his first week he was named Player of the Week, becoming the first new NBA player to ever accomplish such a feat. He was Rookie of the Year, a starter in the All Star game in his rookie year too. He won two Gold Medals playing on Dream Team ll and lll in the '94 and '96 Summer Olympic Games. But his career with the Magic never got out of third gear, and he chose to move on after his contract ran out. He had a vision, and it included Hollywood. Most people around the world know the name Shaquille O'Neal as one of the greatest NBA players in history. He was perhaps the most athletic big man the game has ever seen. And he had a certain personality to fit the bill too. After signing a massive $121 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, O'Neal was quoted, "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok." Shaq credits his stepfather for teaching him to use the dunk whenever possible. It proved to be his most powerful weapon and also his trademark. During a five year stretch he led the league in field goal percentage. But for several years the Lakers stumbled along with little return on their investment. But once again, the game changed for Shaq when the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as their head coach. Jackson challenged Shaq, and the new kid on the block, Kobe Bryant, to create a new dimension in the Big Man-Shooter offensive combo which included a strong defensive element. Similar to how Phil Harrison had challenged him, Shaq responded to Coach Jackson in a big way. The following season O'Neal came one vote short of becoming the first unanimous choice for the league's Most Valuable Player Award. O'Neal has said he and Kobe Bryant were the most effective and dominant one-two punch in NBA basketball history. For three straight years he was named playoff MVP and maintained the highest playoff scoring average in league history. The Lakers won three consecutive world titles, accomplishing the "Three Peat" for only the fifth time in NBA history. After a couple of seasons marked by team dissension and a series of injuries O'Neal yne Wade. But maybe more importantly, the Heat hired Pat Riley to become their head coach. In 2006 Riley squeezed the most out of the Heat and O'Neal to mount an incredible playoff series comeback from a two game deficit to win Shaq's 4th World Championship ring, this time playing for Miami. As had happened before, Shaquille rose to the occasion when a strong male leader inspired him to reach for the ring. After 19 years and playing for six different teams, O'Neal retired and became only the 32nd athlete in history to have his jersey retired by two professional sports teams (the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers). But that is only the first chapter in an incredible story about a young man born in the boroughs of New York, that would become Unparalleled. Shaq was just getting warmed up. He demanded a trade and was sent off to the Miami Heat where he joined upcoming superstar Dwayne Wade. During his basketball career he had completed a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix in 2005. In 2012 he received an Educational Doctorate in Human Resource Development from Barry University. He also studied filmmaking and cinematography at the New York Film Academy. He has been quoted as saying he would eventually get a law degree and run for Sheriff, somewhere. He has always been fascinated by law enforcement and became a reserve officer in the Los Angeles Port Police after passing an exam with the L.A. County Sheriff's Reserve Academy, and was at one point sworn in as a Sheriff Deputy in Clayton County Georgia. Shortly after finishing his career in the NBA, Shaq began doing analysis for Turner News Network (TNT) NBA telecasts. He was recognized as insightful, humorous and self-deprecating. He gored many sacred cows. He would sometimes disparage former managers and teammates, but claimed it was just part of the job. He didn't want anyone thinking he was fawning over other players no matter how sacred they may be. He was featured on Saturday Night Live, and hosted Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs., both reality sports competition shows on ABC. Because of his high international profile he shot a children's program called Off To School for South Korean TV. He is to this day one of the world's highest paid advertising personalities. He is currently the spokesman for The General Insurance Company, IcyHot sports medicine, Krispy Kreme and Papa John's Pizza ( he owns nine locations in the Atlanta area) and has in the past done work for Pepsi and Reebok, as well as many other smaller specialty companies. As a lifelong Pro Wrestling fan, O'Neal cherished the idea of getting involved in the entertainment pseudo-sport. As far back as 1994 he presented the Championship Belt to the winner of The Bash At The Beach, which introduced Hulk Hogan to the world of wrestling. Acting as an analyst, O'Neal would occasionally get into confrontations with wrestlers, which led to him challenging one of them to a showdown scheduled to happen at WrestleMania 33 in 2017. It was later canceled for "scheduling" reasons. Besides trading stocks and investing in real estate and mortgage lenders, Shaq is heavily involved in the Video Gaming industry, appearing on dozens of DVD basketball game covers and as a storyline character in many of them. Many Americans are unaware of O'Neals music industry work. His 1993 debut rap album, Shaq Diesel went platinum. He has since released four studio albums of original material. He appeared on records with Michael Jackson and Aaron Carter. In 2010 he conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Pops Symphony Hall. He is still touring as a DJ under the trade name DIESEL. Shaq has a long history of appearing in films and music videos. In 1996 he starred in a fantasy comedy-musical movie called KAZAAM! He was the 5000 year-old Genie who emerges from a magic boombox to grant a young boy three wishes. He has dozens of cameo appearances in films, usually as himself, but sometimes as a character of consequence. He played the main character in the DC Comics film saga Steel, about a black citizen hero that dons an armored suit to stop a maniacal arms trader. Overall, O'neal has appeared in 15 Hollywood films and done voice-overs in three others. Although Shaquille O'Neal never invented anything, he has demonstrated an unparalleled ability to traverse conventional stereotypes about seven-foot-tall black men, spoiled rich athletes, or poor kids from Newark, New York. I could have focused on mega athletes like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, or Magic Johnson, all African America super stars in their field. All of whom have had success in business and mentored other great athletes. But none of them have had the incredible diversity of success that O'Neal has accomplished. All of them are known around the world by their first names, and all are great ambassadors for Americanism. But Shaq is Unparalleled. |
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