Shaquille O’Neal draws inspiration from Muhammad Ali’s generous spirit

LOUISVILLE – Shaquille O’Neal hopes to carry on the legacy of late boxing great Muhammad Ali, the retired four-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion said, as he uses his fame to advance his philanthropic work.

O’Neal will be honoured on Nov 9 at the Muhammad Ali Centre in Louisville for his work supporting underprivileged youth, a cause that reflects the ideals that “The Greatest” championed, Ali’s widow Lonnie Ali said.

“We don’t give this out lightly,” Ali said in a joint-interview with O’Neal.

“We give it to people who emulate Muhammad’s example, who bring that Ali spirit and carry that torch forward to the next generation.”

She said she sees a lot of her husband, a global icon known as much for his political activism as his boxing brilliance, in Hall of Famer O’Neal.

“He has a compassionate and kind heart, like Muhammad had,” she added.

O'Neal, 52, credits the Boys & Girls Clubs of America as being a safe haven for him when he was growing up in a rough part of Newark, New Jersey.

His foundation has long been a high-profile supporter of the philanthropic organisation as part of his mission to create pathways to success for young people.

The boxing icon first got to know O’Neal in the early 1990s, when he was about to be drafted into the NBA, beginning what would become an enduring friendship.

“I can remember my father telling me one day, if you listen to me, you can be as big as Muhammad Ali,” O’Neal said.

“I didn’t believe it. But I had the opportunity to meet Mr Ali and when he recognised me in a restaurant, I almost cried. I was like, ‘Oh my God, Muhammad Ali knows who I am’.

“I don’t consider myself in the same stratosphere as Ali but to have had the opportunity to see him, try to mimic him and to be close to his family...

“Everything I’ve tried to do, I’ve patterned after the great Muhammad Ali.”

O’Neal said another inspiration to perform good deeds comes from his mother, whom he plans to bring as his date to the Nov 9 awards dinner.

“When I do things, I don’t do them for recognition. I do them because I’ve seen other greats like Muhammad Ali do it,” he said.

“And I’m a mama’s boy, and she always told me to be kind and compassionate and help those in need.”

After retiring from the NBA in 2011, O’Neal became an analyst for TNT’s beloved Inside the NBA and is involved in myriad business ventures, charitable causes and artistic endeavours. REUTERS