Publish date: 2023-12-01

Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal has had his fair share of problems while growing up. Having spent the early years of his childhood with his mother as the sole provider in the house, Shaq formed a close bond with Lucille O’Neal that only became stronger with time. Following her marriage to Sergeant Phillip Harrison, Shaq grew up under the tutelage of his strict disciplinarian Drill Sergeant stepfather. Time and again, Shaq has proudly talked about the life values that Harrison has taught him growing up and his recent actions have indicated that the Big Aristotle still continues to uphold and stick by those beliefs.

Shaquille O’Neal resurfaced his comments on abstaining from alcohol in public for a very specific reason. Incidentally, Lucille O’Neal had recently revealed her past struggles with alcoholism while speaking at an event.

Shaquille O’Neal takes a trip down memory lane

The 4x NBA champion recently shared a snippet from an old podcast episode on his Instagram stories. The short clip was from his interview with Drink Champs from October of last year. In the video, one of the hosts of the show, N.O.R.E asked Shaq if he used to partakes in alcohol. In response, the 15x NBA All-Star said that he does drink but not in public and the reason was his mother.

Shaq explained, “I do drink but not in public because I can’t do nothing to jeopardize my mother’s empire. So I’m not gonna sit here and say, ‘Oh I don’t drink’. Me and my father used to drink after all the championship games.”

Furthermore, he added, “So if I’m at the house then I drink but I’m not gonna drink at a restaurant and jump in a car and then…because my father always used to tell me, ‘If you mess the money up, your mama ain’t gonna have no house. If you mess the money up, your mama ain’t gonna eat. You’re the one. God has chosen you to get your family out of brick city’.”

While Shaq still follows his father’s advice and beliefs for his mother, it might come as a shock to know that the Lakers legend’s mother once used to struggle with her own alcohol-related issues.

“Not Only Did I Get Drunk, I Hated Beer..”: 13-Year-Old Shaquille O’Neal Was Forced to Gulp 12 Pints in a Row Just to Learn a Lesson

How Lucille O’Neal overcame her alcoholism

Lucille O’Neal was only 17 years old when she had Shaquille O’Neal. Back then, her single mother status became a reason why her family kicked her out of the house. Years later, she got married to Sgt. Harrison and things seemed to finally get back on track. Gradually, Lucille began relying heavily on alcohol, which slowly started to affect her mentally. However, her son and his reputation became a huge motivation for her to overcome her issues.

She said, “It was hard at first because selfish… I don’t care about none of these people, I don’t care about any of that. But my son worked very hard to get to the position he was in and I could not, could not embarrass him.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Shaquille O’Neal on a Helpless Father Saving His Kid From His Wrath: “No Way That Motherfuc*er Is 10 Years Old!”

Lucille has been sober for more than a decade now and her incredible journey stands as proof that with the right motivation and drive, a person can achieve anything.

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