The former Los Angeles Lakers star always tries to ‘make every day a meaningful moment for a fan,’ especially a child, by purchasing them gifts when he runs into them.
AceShowbiz -Buying his fans gifts is one of Shaquille O’Neal‘s favorite things to do. The Los Angeles Lakers legend loves to do a daily “meaningful moment” for his supporters – especially children – by purchasing them a little present.
“I try to make every day a meaningful moment for a fan, and especially a kid,” the 50-year-old basketball player told PEOPLE magazine. Shaquille says his “favourite things” is buying something a little one had been eyeing up in a store.
He said, “My favourite thing to do is when I’m in Best Buy, Walmart, if I see a kid, get them something that I see he’s looking at. Oh, like yesterday I saw a couple kids. I bought a couple bikes, a couple more scooters.”
The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation founder – who has four kids Shareef, Shaqir, Amirah and Me’arah with his ex wife Shaunie, stepson Myles and daughter Taahirah with his ex girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh – always gets clearance from their parents that it’s okay to do so.
Shaquille said, “Well, first I always tell them to ask their parents if they’re going to take things from strangers. You don’t want kids to get used to having a stranger come up and say, ‘Hey, I got a whole lot of money. Can I buy you something?’ “
The former Boston Celtics player also reminisced about “another really meaningful” moment that went from buying an unhoused woman in Texas a plate of food to reuniting her with her family. Shaquille said, “There was a homeless lady in front of one of my favorite restaurants in Texas called Bigs. And I just gave her a plate of food and somebody recorded it and posted it.”
He continued, “Her sister had come in crying to the owner, saying, ‘Oh, my god, we’ve been looking for her for six months. We couldn’t find her. We didn’t know if anything was wrong with her.’ They tried to take her to get help. She didn’t want to get help, so she’s still out there, but at least her sister knows where she is. Her sister could bring her clothes and water or something. But, when I do stuff like that, I never record it.”
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