Shaquille O'Neal Reveals Emotional Truth for Refusing to Call His Father 'Dad'

O'Neal's early life wasn't all roses and sunshine, though. He was born on March 6, 1972, to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, but would only be able to rely on one of his biological parents.

Toney was imprisoned for drug possession when his son was a toddler, and he declined to be a part of his life after his release. He handed over responsibility to the boy's stepfather, Phillip Arthur Harrison.

O'Neal would remain estranged from Toney for years after finding out the truth from his mother later in life. The two have grown closer recently, though, and O'Neal spoke about that on the latest episode of "The Big Podcast with Shaq."

"I'm starting to develop more of a relationship with my biological father because I'm big about respect," O'Neal said on The Big Podcast with Shaq. "When my stepfather died, my mom calls me one day, [she] was like, 'You need to get to know your real father.' I was like, 'No, mom, I'm 50. I don't need a Dad.'

"But she's like, 'He was a good man, he just went through some stuff,'" O'Neal added. "And I understand that men go through struggles, so now we're starting to ... But when I met him, I was like, 'Hey man, I ain't calling you dad. I just want to tell you that straight up.'"

Harrison passed away in 2013, and O'Neal finally decided to meet and talk to Toney in 2016. While he doesn't have a problem with speaking to his biological father anymore, he won't be calling him 'dad.'