Some people have believed this for hundreds (thousands?) of years – the Earth is flat! On a recent overseas radio show, Shaq said he’s still curious about what some call the “Flat Earth conspiracy theory.”
Earlier this week (as of this writing) O’Neal said he “likes listening” to what some call “pseudoscientific theories” that the Earth is indeed flat.
In an interview with the Australian radio show “Kyle and Jackie O.,” the talk somehow turned to the Flat Earth theory. Shaq admitted he still “isn’t sure” if the planet is really spinning like a giant-sized basketball.
Still, the big man did not go as far as to call himself a Flat Earther. In addition, he insisted the debunked flat-earth concept was “just a theory.” He added he likes to study conspiracies purely out of curiosity.
Shaq: “It’s a theory, it’s just a theory, they teach us a lot of things. It’s just a theory. I flew 20 hours today, not once did I go straight. I didn’t tip over, I didn’t go upside down. It’s just a conspiracy theory.”
Shaq was spending all that time airborne as he flew from the U.S. to Australia as he is starting a new international speaking tour.
During the talk, radio host Kyle Sandilands questioned the theory, noting how it’s possible to travel from America to Australia from two directions, either from the east or west coast. To which Shaq replied: “It’s still a straight line.”
This is not the first time O’Neal has brought up the subject of the Flat Earth Theory. He talked about it on his own The Big Podcast with Shaq way back in 2017.
Seems it all started (for Shaq) when he and Kyrie Irving (then with the Cleveland Cavaliers) talked about it in an interview prior to the NBA’s All-Star Weekend. Irving got some small heat for mentioning his beliefs, and O’Neal came to his defense, saying he thought it was true, that the Earth is flat.
In talking about the subject since then, Shaq has what he feels are inaccuracies taught to kids in school about Christopher Columbus.
‘Listen, there are three ways to manipulate the mind: what you read, what you see and what you hear,’ Shaq said.
Shaq: “In school, first thing they teach us is, “Oh, Columbus discovered America”… Columbus didn’t discover America. So, listen, I drive from coast to coast, and this s**t is flat to me. Satellite imagery could be drawn and made up. I’m just saying, when I drive from Florida to New York: flat. New York to Seattle: flat. Seattle down to LA: flat. LA back to Florida: flat.”
It’s not entirely clear if the big man is just telling a big tale (and tall tale, for that matter). It might have just been a big troll on his listeners. He’s often told “interesting” stories, and later admitted it was all JK – just kidding.
Shaq has plenty of higher education to bring to bear on this or any other subject… he’s no “dumb jock” as the old cliche goes. O’Neal attended LSU for three years before joining the NBA. In 2000, he went back to school to complete his Bachelor’s degree.
He also completed an online MBA in 2005 through the University of Phoenix.
In 2012, he graduated from Florida’s Barry University with a doctorate degree in education focusing on organizational learning and leadership.