Shaq attack! Even though Donald Sterling has agreed to sell the Los Angeles Clippers after the team owner was embroiled in a racism scandal, Shaquille O’Neal still sees an issue with the situation.
“They just got a $2 billion check,” the basketball legend, 42, tells Us Weekly in a chat about his role in a new Nintendo game, Tomodachi Life. “Only in this country can you make racist remarks and then get $2 billion.”
However, the former NBA pro is ready to move past the issue and put attention on what really matters: basketball. “Everybody wanted him out of the game, so he’s out of the game. Now we can just focus on protecting our game.”
Despite the recent turmoil, O’Neal has kept his focus on his children (Taahirah, Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir and Me’arah) now that summer break is approaching. “Since all of them are doing pretty well in school, in the summer I don’t want to overload their brains,” the basketball superstar explains. “Thirty days is all they get. All of July is fun!”
When they’re not going for walks, taking a swim or riding their bikes, the family unwinds with the new videogame Tomodachi Life. “It helps us spend more time together,” O’Neal says of the game, in which he and other celebs are featured as characters. “You get to make your own characters, you get to do wild and spontaneous things go to space, change the way you look, it’s awesome. I’m a big gamer!”
A family man himself, the father of five loves the family-friendly nature of the game. “Every kid in America is going to play it. They get to create their own characters and go up against other characters,” O’Neal describes. “My favorite part of the game is having personalities that are completely customizable and you can decide whether to be a leader or a follower.”
O’Neal is featured in a game as a celebrity character, along with Christina Aguilera, Shaun White, Zendaya and Debby Ryan. “I know it’s a good-looking character,” O’Neal boasts. “Kind of hot!”
To download Shaq’s Mii and learn more about the family game, visit tomodachi.nintendo.com.
