Shaquille O'Neal reveals the only time his controversial comments landed him in trouble with HR
Shaquille O'Neal has revealed the only time he got in trouble with human resources during his career was after he came out in support of flat-Earth conspiracy theories.
O'Neal has not been shy about making controversial comments and speaking out on any topic that comes to mind, especially if its in disagreement with colleague Charles Barkley.
O'Neal put faith in flat-Earth conspiracies in 2017, just after Kyrie Irving came out bombastically believing them.
Although O'Neal does not make it clear when the HR meeting was, he alludes to it being around that time. O'Neal also clarified he thought it was clear he was joking about the conspiracy.
'I said that as a joke and the internet went freaking crazy on me,' O'Neal said on 'The Big Podcast'. 'I had a corporation I was working with… when I said that and it went viral, they actually called me in. And I had to talk to the HR department and they were talking about dropping me.'
'I said, "You can drop me if you want, you're still gonna have to pay me." They were like, "Yeah, we got a lot of hate mail." That's when I knew the world was really shifting, especially listening to the comments.'
O'Neal has not been shy about making controversial comments and speaking out on any topic
The company O'Neal was working with is unclear but it was not TNT Sports, where he has had a successful broadcast career.
Irving's flat-Earth conspiracies were not the only time he has been in hot water with the NBA.
The now-Dallas Maverick shared his hesitancy to take the coronavirus vaccine and was suspended in 2022 after sharing a series of anti-Semitic messages through social media and the press.
O'Neal has never been in that amount of hot water, as 'DJ Diesel' reaches an apex of his career.
TNT's broadcast deal with the NBA is expiring, with the future of the famed quartet of Barkley, O'Neal, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith sticking together and heading to ESPN.
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