Shaquille O’Neal and his acts of kindness stay on the radar!
The four-time NBA champion recently interviewed with Be Better Off Show where he discussed paying for 15 of his friends to obtain their master’s degrees.
He explained that whenever he was in attendance during business meetings, agents would only communicate with his representatives believing O’Neal would lack comprehension skills,
“I noticed that every time I go to a business meeting, the guys we’re doing deals with will be like, ‘Hello Shaq, how are you doing?’ and then they would turn away and look at my lawyers, accountants, and all those guys,” he said.
O’Neal added,
“So I said, ‘Oh, you guys don’t think I’m in charge? You guys don’t think I understand the lingo?’ So I went and got my masters from the University of Phoenix.”
This motivated him to take a personal stance and apply for his own master’s degree, via the University of Phoenix, and make a statement against the “dumb jock” stereotype.
So, just why is Shaquille O’Neal doing this?
Apparently, the University of Phoenix doesn’t offer classes individually, therefore, O’Neal recruited friends from his inner circle to further his scholastic ambition,
“The University of Phoenix is an online program mostly,” he continued. “But I went to the head officials and said, ‘I don’t want to do it online. I want somebody to teach me in a class. And they came back and said, ‘Unfortunately, we can’t set up a classroom for one guy. You need 15 people. So, I paid for 15 of my friends to get their master’s.”
With a net worth of $400 million, O’Neal has made great use of his business acumen over the years with several businesses.
The 50-year-old mogul is a joint owner with Krispy Kreme, Papa John’s, 40 24-hour fitness clubs, and mall favorite, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.
He currently owns the franchise Big Chicken in Las Vegas which has 10 locations. Its expansion includes New York, Ohio, and California, per AfroTech.
According to the Miami Herald, O’Neal earned his doctoral degree in organizational learning and leadership with a specialization in human resource development from Barry University.
