Shaquille O’Neal has been through quite a complicated relationship with his biological father Joseph Toney. As most of us are aware, Shaq is a well-known NBA legend and sports celebrity. He is regarded by many to be one of the most unstoppable players in NBA history.
Although O’Neal was certainly able to obtain a better life after joining the league, his personal life and memories of family had already been created and there was no going back. In fact, it took Shaq several years to finally reconnect with his father and reestablish a relationship. Let us take a closer look at why that was the case and the context of the events that unfolded.
Shaquille O’Neal did not have a relationship with his biological Joseph Toney even after his release
Shaq is one of many NBA players such as LeBron James, who never had a relationship with his father during childhood and the developmental years. His mother Lucille O’Neal dealt with the challenges of being a single mother and raising her son. Toney had allegedly left the family and ran away, potentially to avoid his responsibilities and duties as a father.
When Joseph found out that Shaq was developing into a budding NBA talent, he attempted to renter his son’s life. However, he was not allowed to do so by Shaq’s stepfather Philip Harrison. Philip made it clear that he would be the one responsible for raising and taking care of Shaq since he was married to Lucille and a new part of the family.
It was later reported that Shaq finally met his birth father only after the death of his stepfather. As a result of this meeting, he was able to find out Toney’s perspective on the events that transpired. It turns out that he was on the verge of being arrested and imprisoned for running a check forgery operation, which actually ended up happening. Therefore, he wasn’t really running away from his responsibilities, rather he was avoiding the law.
Joseph was unable to find the right words to justify his actions when he finally met O’Neal, “I didn’t know if you was mad at me…I didn’t know if you hated me.” Upon hearing that, Shaq responded and dismissed Toney’s notions. He denied being deprived of much in life, especially since Philip Harrison entered his life at the right time.
By the time O’Neal met his biological father, he already had children of his own. Therefore, he was also able to empathize with his father on the struggles of being a parent. We are glad to see that Shaq was able to rebuild his relationship with Tooney despite the fact that never had a connection during his formative years.