Shaq Says He Can't ‘Judge’ His Biological Father Because He Wasn't ‘Perfect’ In His Own Marriage

In an interview with Craig Melvin for Glass Half Full, Shaquille O’Neal opened up about some of his regrets when it comes to his relationship with and subsequent divorce from Shaunie Nelson. While discussing his relationship with his biological father, who was largely absent from his childhood, he said that he doesn’t have a problem with him because he understands how complicated relationships can be. “Listen… Men, marriages, relationships… You go through things, “And I wasn’t always the perfect guy in my relationship and in my marriage. So who am I to judge?” Shaq’s biological father, Joe Toney, struggled with drug addiction and spent time in prison for drug-related charges when Shaq was still an infant. When he was released from prison, he opted to give over his parental rights to Shaq’s stepfather, Phillip Arthur Harrison. “I never really had a problem with him, just, you know… I felt that if you wanted to get to know me, you just should have,” he said of his father. “You just should have came and, you know, talked to me. It was unfortunate. I had to find out about it on The Ricky Lake Show. I felt kind of blindsided.” Asked if he could go back and change how he acted in his own relationship, Shaq said that he “do the right thing” if he had the opportunity. “When you make vows and you say and do certain things, you have to stand up to that,” he said. “We can always sit here and make excuses, but it was definitely no excuse for it. And you know, I’ve paid the price for it. I’ve lived in a 67,000 square foot house by myself, no kids, no nothing. You know, it kind of got to me at times. My kids, they understand. We’ve had conversations. So, my relationship with them now is perfect. Shaq added that he’s grown from the experience of being married to Shaunie, who he shares four children with and finalized his divorce from in 2011. He said that he doesn’t know if things would have been different if he got married later in life, though. “I’m a true man and I messed up,” he said. Shaq revealed that his children initially didn’t talk to him after the divorce. “In all of that, I’m just happy and blessed that they've forgiven me. Because me and my babies didn’t talk for a while,” Shaq admitted. “I understood that, but now we’re starting to get closer. I’m teaching my boys to be better than me. Papa was a Rolling Stone. You don’t need to be like me.”

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