Shaquille O'Neal explains why he thinks the world is flat: "It's just a theory!"
Shaquille O'Neal is, without a doubt, one of the best and most dominant players in NBA history. But what made him globally popular during and after his playing career was his comedic nature and ability to stay in the spotlight by branching out into other various ventures. From business, the movie industry, and music to being a self-proclaimed scientist with his own theories, "The Big Aristotel" can indeed do it all.
The flat earth theory
The flat earth conspiracy became really popular back in 2017 when superstar Kyrie Irving shared he believed in it. It would start a trend as a few other NBA players would come out and share the same opinion. Shaquille O'Neal was one of them.
Now we are in 2022, and Kyrie has confirmed he doesn't really believe in the conspiracy, saying he just went into a YouTube rabbit hole at the time. But on the other side, it seems like Shaq isn't backing down from his stance.
Shaq recently made a guest appearance on The Kyle & Jackie O Show and talked about various topics while flirting with the hostess along the way. When they touched on the subject of the flat earth, reminding Shaq of his comments back in 2017, O'Neal doubled down on it.
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"It's a theory. It's just a theory, they teach us a lot of things. It's just a theory."
Shaquille O'Neal, The Kyle & Jackie O Show
The NBA legend shared his unique reasoning by giving an example:
"I flew 20 hours today. Not once did I go this way," O'Neal said while gesturing he didn't go upside down or tip over.
He also added that he's not convinced if the planet is spinning or not.
"You know they say the world is spinning? I've lived on a lake for 30 years, and I've never seen the lake move to the left or right," Shaq explained.
It's pretty unclear if Shaq was serious about his explanation or just making jokes, but one thing is for sure. He is sticking by his words and denying all logical or scientific arguments against his theory. A few scientists even commented on Shaq's remarks and called it pretty harmful, whether it's a joke or not.
When someone of Shaq's popularity and magnitude makes those kinds of statements regularly, many people will believe him and create even more controversy around the subject. Pretty blatant stuff, if you ask me.