Shaquille O’Neal has been known over the years to commit random acts of kindness for complete strangers. Well, the NBA legend did so once again recently while shopping at an Atlanta, Ga., jewelry store.
Footage posted to social media this week documents how Shaq offered to pay for a man’s engagement ring after hearing the stranger express concern how he would finance the jewelry. The scene occurred inside a Zales store at a mall in McDonough, per local station WSB-TV, and footage was shared on Instagram.
In the video, O’Neal can be seen giving his own credit card to a store employee and shaking hands with the stranger after footing the bill for the jewelry.
During Tuesday night’s postgame coverage on “Inside the NBA,” O’Neal opened up about his unprovoked act of generosity.
“He was saying hey, how much do I owe to pay off my ring? And I was like, how much is the ring?” O’Neal said, adding that the young man first refused to take the money from him, via The Indian Express.
Shaq explained that he overheard the man asking about the layaway plan, which meant that he would collect the item later after paying the full amount. So, he decided to step forward and help the hardworking man surprise his girlfriend.
“This is something that I do every day,” he said, sharing more such incidents. “I’m into making people happy so whenever I leave the house I just try and do a good thing. I’m just trying to make people smile, that’s all,” he added.
As noted above and by the NBA legend himself, O’Neal frequently engages in such random acts of generosity. Over the years, O’Neal has paid for the funeral expenses of a slain Louisville football signee, and even donated a home to a family who lost their 12-year-old son in a shooting, among myriad other similar gestures.
O’Neal obviously has the wealth to afford such thoughtful acts, but that does not take anything away from nor diminish how his actions can transform strangers’ lives. It’s clear that the Hall of Famer relishes playing the role of Good Samaritan in situations like the one that played out this week in an Atlanta-area jewelry store.
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