NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has flipped the script on the stereotypes of deadbeat dads with his overprotective parenting, but his methods raise serious questions about the double standards Black girls face compared to their brothers, especially when it comes to dating.
The 7-foot-1 business mogul recently had social media buzzing after revealing the ice-cold treatment he served to one of his daughters’ boyfriends, who attempted an overnight stay at the O’Neal mansion without permission.
On a recent episode of “The Big Podcast,” his co-host Adam Lefkoe asked, “Shaq, have your daughters ever had a boyfriend stay over?”
The former Los Angeles Laker answered, “My boys gonna have their girlfriend stay over anytime they want. Daughters? I actually had this happen to me, so I didn’t know she had a boyfriend. So she comes one day… and you know, he’s cool. I’m being nice, whatever, and I’m waiting. Me and Kenny waiting.”
“Towards the end of the night, he tries to go upstairs. We’re like ‘No, no, get your a— in the back,'” O’Neal shared, describing how he banished the young man to what he called the “dungeon” — a.k.a. his home gym.
What followed was psychological warfare, Black father-style, “We drop it to 50 [degrees], like man, that’s too cold, bring it up to 70. We watch him all night. We gave him one cover. He didn’t get a good night’s sleep.”
“He didn’t get a good night sleep but, uh he woke up the next morning … he’s like, ‘I think I have a cold.”
The baller seemed pleased that the young man got sick. Meanwhile, Shaq’s sons enjoy the privilege of having girlfriends stay over without issue.
The basketball icon has made no secret of his different expectations for his daughters, famously declaring, “Don’t bring no boys to my house unless you got a master’s.”
He insists his daughters achieve financial independence before pursuing relationships, while his sons operate under a completely different set of rules.
However, Shaq’s protective father persona took a contradictory turn when he recently commented on LSU basketball star Angel Reese’s “little shorts” during a podcast episode.
The WNBA star is one year younger than his second eldest daughter. Taahirah is 28, Amirah is 23 and Me’aeah is 18.
The remark sparked immediate backlash from those who asserted that a man so protective of his own daughters was contribute to the hypersexualization of a young female athlete he mentors.
O’Neal’s freezing dungeon story represents more than just an overprotective father’s antics— it symbolizes how differently his daughters and sons are prepared for adulthood. Despite criticism, Shaq remains unapologetic about his approach to fatherhood.
