Shaquille O'Neal Felt 'Embarrassed' Not Being Able to Help His Son Fill Out Resumés: 'I Never Had a Real Job'

Mar. 15, 2025

Shaquille O’Neal.Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty

Shaquille O’Nealopened up about a moment with his son that left the athlete feeling “embarrassed” during a recent interview.

While speaking withSunrise News reporter David Koch, the 50-year-old NBA icon said, “I am grateful, because I realize that the position I am in, in life, is a lucky position. I never had a real job in my life.”

The father-of-five continued, “When I was trying to help my son fill out a resume, I had to call somebody…I couldn’t do it…I was embarrassed.”

O’Neal and his ex-wifeShaunie O’Nealshare four kids together — Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir and Me’arah — while Shaunie has a son, Myles, from a previous relationship, and O’Neal has a daughter, Taahirah, with his former girlfriend, Arnetta Yardbourgh.

Cassy Athena/Getty

Koch retorted, “You’ve never had a real job, but you’re almost as comfortable in business as you are on the basketball court … you’ve got an MBA.“According to ESPN, O’Neal earned his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix online.

The four-time NBA champion, who has been the face of major brands like Pepsi, Icy Hot, and Reebok, explained that while he is heavily involved with every project he works on, he’s confident with the team he has in place to manage the business side of his brand.

O’Neal explained, “The reason why I did that is because I always like to be in charge, but I let other people speak for me, my agents … they think I’m just this dumb jock who has no inclination of what business is. It would just drive me crazy.”

In addition to his various investments, O’Neal is getting ready to return as an analyst forNBA on TNTthis season. In fact, the Laker legend revealed he’d be interested in purchasing the NBA team that drafted him in 1992.

“This message go out to the DeVos family, if you’re ready to sell Orlando Magic, sell it to somebody who’s gonna take it to the next level, that’s us,” O’Neal, 50, said onThe Big Podcastin June. “Listen we still run that franchise [Magic]. If they wanna sell it to us, DeVos family, we’re ready to go right now,” he said, speaking on behalf of himself andformer Magic player Dennis Scott, who also appeared on the podcast episode.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The DeVos family has not indicated any interest in selling the team, but O’Neal said he’s ready if the call comes in. “We got the money, you ain’t got to worry about that,” he said.

source: people.com