The legendary big man completed his degree at LSU in 2000, after he left the school early in the '90s to join the NBA. Since then, he's donated millions of dollars to his alma mater. Naturally, the school wanted to honor its most famous alumnus with a statue, but according to a report on SportsByBrooks, Shaq doesn't want it.
O'Neal's donations, according to the report, came with requests for anonymity, and the only recognition Shaq has agreed to receive was his name on the pool in the hotel he helped fund on campus. But plans for a new athletic center include statues of O'Neal, Pete Maravich, Seimone Augustus and Bob Petit, who is also opposed to a statue being erected in his honor while he's still alive.
The report says that LSU even had the statue completed in an effort to convince O'Neal that he should welcome the honor, but "as of [May 10], O'Neal has not budged on his unwillingness to have his bronzed, life-size likeness placed outside the LSU basketball practice facility."
Well, then, Mr. O'Neal, how do you explain this?
