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Shaq Says His Mom Was ‘Disappointed’ He Had Never Voted Before

"I don’t have any excuses, but I didn’t have time.”

After exercising his right to vote earlier this month, former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal admitted that he had just voted for the first time ever in the 2020 presidential election. Despite using his vote to enact change, Shaq’s mother was not happy to hear that this was her son’s first time voting. 

Sitting down with USA Today Sports, Shaq revealed that his mother, Lucille O’Neal, was “disappointed” hearing that her son had never made it to the polls to vote. "I don’t have any excuses, but I didn’t have time. That’s a bad excuse. My mom was disappointed,” O’Neal said. “But this year, I made time."

RELATED: Shaq Reveals He’s Cast A Ballot For The First Time

During an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq in early October, the NBA Hall of Famer first shared to his listeners that he officially cast his ballot. 

"I voted for the first time, and it feels good," he  revealed during the podcast, saying that he recently submitted his absentee ballot. "You know I always like being honest on my podcast. I've never voted before, America. But, now I'm doing all these voting campaigns, and you know one thing I never like to do is be a hypocrite."

RELATED: Shaq On Talking To His Sons About Police Violence

Shaq recently participated in a virtual rally to support Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden. His civic engagement also includes launching the #MyStartingFive challenge with Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, the initiative encourages people to nominate five friends on social media to remind them to vote. 

O'Neal has also partnered with former First Lady Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote, initiative

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