Criticism is a part of life, and the world of sports is no exception. Considering all the money professional athletes make, when you don't perform at a high level, you are going to get criticized, and it happens more frequently than ever now, thanks to social media.
Sports media talking heads may be the most critical group of them all, and Shaquille O'Neal is certainly a part of that group. The legendary big man recently revealed, though, why he often opts to be more critical of NBA players than his contemporaries.
Shaquille sheds light on his decision to criticize NBA players frequently
O'Neal had a Hall of Fame career in the NBA, but he still dealt with a lot of criticism throughout his time in the league. Naturally, that happens when you play for some of the most high-profile teams in the league, but it just goes to show that it's something everyone has to deal with.
Now that he's a prominent sports media figure, Shaq has often been slammed for being overly harsh when talking about players in the game today. However, the big man brushed that claim off by saying that he's calling these guys out in an effort to motivate them to become better.
"When I criticize players, I try to put some truth in it," Shaquille said on The Draymond Green Show. "For ten, 15 years, people think that I hate Dwight (Howard). I actually really love Dwight. Little bit of me, probably a little bit more athletic, can jump higher. I would always say you gotta average 20 (points) and ten (rebounds), I would always say you're not dominating so hopefully he would get the message and say, 'F*** you Shaq, this is what I gotta do.'"
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Shaquille used the Dwight example to show why he's so critical of players
This is a pretty eye-opening admission from O'Neal because fans have held this gripe against him since he retired from the league. Shaq retaliated by saying that this is simply what he does in an effort to motivate players to become better, which makes some sense.
Using Dwight Howard as an example, Shaquille frequently criticized him for not being as good as he thought he could be. While many fans understandably believe that he dislikes Howard, O'Neal claims he was simply trying to fire him up so much that he ended up being proved wrong.
It's an interesting strategy, but there's reason to believe Shaq here. He was in the NBA, after all, so he knows how to get players fired up. Everybody responds differently to different communication styles, though, so it may not work for some guys as well as it works for others.
It remains to be seen whether players like this or not or even really care about what Shaquille says about them. However, the Hall of Fame center wanted to make it clear he's not a hater; it's just a matter of whether people believe what he's saying.
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