Acts of Kindness
Basketball legend overhears shy guy buying an engagement ring and pulls out his credit card
Imagine the man's surprise when he looked up and saw the basketball star towering over him!
Irene Markianou
04.15.21

When you live in a big city like New York, Los Angeles, or Atlanta, then it is highly probable that you may meet some celebrity. It often happens, especially when shopping, and people are quite used to it.

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Unsplash

However, seeing a celebrity at the mall is one thing but having your purchase paid for by them is another.

Imagine this young man’s shock when Shaquille O’Neil, who happened to be shopping at the same jewelry store, offered to pay for his girlfriend’s engagement ring.

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Source:
Unsplash

So, a few days ago, Shaq was in an Atlanta-area jewelry store buying new earrings, when he realized there was a man shopping around, who was struggling to pay off the engagement ring he had bought for his girlfriend.

“This happened yesterday. I was in Zales looking for some new earrings, and I saw a guy,” Shaq told his co-hosts during the NBA after-show on TNT. “I saw the guy, he was just so shy. He was saying, ‘Hey, how much do I owe to pay off the ring.'”

YouTube via Entertainment Tonight
Source:
YouTube via Entertainment Tonight

That was it. O’Neil was touched by the man’s words and he felt the urge to help him.

“I said, ‘You know what, tell your girlfriend I got it. Take care of her.’ And at first he didn’t want to take it,” Shaq said.

The young man was left speechless by the basketball legend’s initiative, but at the same time, he really felt he shouldn’t accept the money.

YouTube via Entertainment Tonight
Source:
YouTube via Entertainment Tonight

A little while later, Shaq did actually pay for the ring, and the two of them posed for a photo.

Although O’Neil does such kind gestures whenever the opportunity arises, he didn’t mean for the whole thing to go public.

“I’m into making people happy,” he explained, “so whenever I leave the house, I just try to do a good deed. Like, I didn’t mean for that to get out cause I didn’t do it for that, but […] this is something that I do every day.”

YouTube via Entertainment Tonight
Source:
YouTube via Entertainment Tonight

The legendary former Laker shared with his co-hosts and the public another recent story. He was shopping for furniture with his mother, when he saw a woman with an autistic child, who was shopping, too. Without giving it a second thought, he covered the expenses for their purchase, and he was really happy about it.

In fact, this is not the first time we hear about Shaq’s good deeds. In fact, he recently spoke to ET about his mission to help people get back on track, following the pandemic.

“You see 40m people lose their jobs, that hurts,” he says.

YouTube via Entertainment Tonight
Source:
YouTube via Entertainment Tonight

Does Shaquille feel special because he managed to become a basketball star and earn a lot of money and publicity in his career?

Not really. He believes he’s fortunate to have had all this in his life, but it’s something he owes to his parents.

YouTube via Entertainment Tonight
Source:
YouTube via Entertainment Tonight

“I know I’m fortunate enough to do everything that I want- that’s because I listened to my parents, not cause I’m the smartest guy in the world,” he told ET in March.

Wow, it always amazes us to see that legends like him can still be humble and down to earth, while trying to help others using their power- whatever that might entail.

YouTube via Entertainment Tonight
Source:
YouTube via Entertainment Tonight

Watch Shaq narrate his story in the video below.

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