Shaquille O’Neal was sick of being ignored in meetings, so he did something about it
Published on May 25, 2023 at 4:11 PM (UTC+4)
by Kate Bain
Last updated on May 26, 2023 at 3:51 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
When Shaquille O’Neal noticed he was being disregarded in business meetings, he did something about it.
“I noticed that every time I [went] to a business meeting, the guys who we were doing deals would be like ‘hello Shaq how are you doing’, then they would turn away and look at my lawyers and accountants and all those guys,” he said.
“So I said ‘oh you guys don’t think I’m in charge, you don’t think I understand the lingo’”.
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So, to make sure that never happened again, Shaq signed up to get his MBA, a Master in Business Administration.
Shaq enrolled at the University of Phoenix, but it wasn’t exactly a straightforward process.
In fact, Shaq had to jump through a few hoops to get what he wanted.
“This is an online program mostly, 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’,” he told the Be Better Off Show.
“They came back and said ‘unfortunately, we can’t set up a classroom for one guy, you need 15 people’.”
So, instead of giving up and accepting it might not be the right fit for him, Shaq did the opposite.
“I paid for 15 of my friends to get their masters,” he said.
With 15 friends by his side, Shaq successfully finished the course, getting his MBA in 2005.
The Miami Heat star, who is worth a reported $400 million, wasn’t satisfied with the MBA though, and went on to earn his Doctorate in Education.
He’s now Dr. Shaquille O’Neal Ed.D.
During his graduation at Barry University, his professor needed a box to stand on in order to hood him.
After he was hooded, Shaq picked up his professor like a child, garnering an awesome reaction from the audience.
You can watch the wholesome moment here:
The legendary athlete dedicated the degree to his mom.
“This is for my mother, who always stressed the importance of education,” he said.
“I am proud to have achieved a doctoral degree and wish to thank my professors and Barry University for helping make this dream a reality.”
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Kate is Lead Editor, overseeing coverage across automotive, tech, and lifestyle content on the site. She has more than 10 years’ experience as a journalist and news editor, having worked across a range of major publications including News Corp, Daily Mail Australia, and Sky News. Kate holds a Bachelor of Business Management from University of Queensland and a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from Queensland University of Technology. She has been with Supercar Blondie since 2020 and played a key role in establishing supercarblondie.com as a leading automotive news destination.
