Shaq receives candid on divorce, regrets in podcast interview: ‘I was arrogant, I was dumb’

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NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal opened up about his divorce in a new podcast interview and bought candid about the loneliness that followed afterward.
O’Neal and Shaunie O’Neal obtained married in 2002 though the former heart was in the midst of his run with the Los Angeles Lakers with Kobe Bryant. The two experienced 4 youngsters ahead of finalizing their divorce in 2011.
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Shareef O’Neal poses with his mother and father Shaquille and Shaunie O’Neal at the Jordan Brand Potential of Flight Showcase on Jan. 25, 2018, in Studio Metropolis, California.
(Cassy Athena/Getty Pictures)
“I was just staying greedy. I had the fantastic circumstance. Wife was finer than a mug. Stored supplying me toddlers, even now finer than a mug – I experienced it all,” O’Neal explained to Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor on “The Pivot Podcast.”
Shaunie O’Neal would file for divorce in 2009, citing “irreconcilable discrepancies,” in accordance to TMZ Athletics. But Shaq claimed the blame was on him.
“I experienced it all, and I don’t make excuses. I know I messed up,” the Basketball Corridor of Famer explained.
O’Neal, who very last played in the NBA through the 2010-11 period, explained he felt “shed” and lonely after the divorce was in excess of and his participating in profession was finished.
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Shaunie O’Neal attends the grand opening of Shaquille’s at L.A. Are living on March 9, 2019, in Los Angeles, California.
(Michael Tullberg/Getty Illustrations or photos)
“No young ones. You go to the fitness center, nobody’s actively playing in the health club. You go to their space, nobody’s there. You start off to sense it,” he mentioned. “As you get older and you listen to ‘Shaq cannot Shaq no more’ and then you know Shaq ain’t Shaq and you go from averaging 30 and 19 … I reported to myself Okay, you are not married but you even now have to shield and give for this relatives. Get you are a– up, man up, let’s go.”
O’Neal then revealed a few major regrets he had during his career. He reported the divorce was just one of them as effectively as his frayed associations with teammates Penny Hardaway and Bryant.
“Just because factors you do make you seem like you might be great, you might be not ideal,” he reported. “Huge mistake in the Penny connection. Huge mistake in the Kobe romantic relationship. Horrible error in both of those marriages. Other than that I really don’t genuinely dwell on a great deal, but people things I truly dwell on. Simply because a single, I know greater … I don’t like to make excuses, but I had a ton going on. I was arrogant, I was dumb, and in some cases when you do a lot of things you do not want to perform at stuff.

Shaquille and Shaunie O’Neal at Muhammad Ali’s Superstar Battle Evening XIV at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Vacation resort and Spa on April 5, 2008, in Scottsdale, Arizona.
(Michael Caulfield/WireImage)
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“Those are the only 3 big regrets that I have. All the things else, I test not to dwell on. I am glad that I have lived my lifestyle and I did it my way.”