Editing Shaquille O'Neal (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Shaquille O'Neal - Cole High School 1989.jpg|thumb|O'Neal playing for [[Robert G. Cole Junior-Senior High School|Cole High School]] varsity basketball team in [[San Antonio]], Texas, in 1989]]
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972, in [[Newark, New Jersey]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Shaquille O'Neal {{!}} Biography & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shaquille-ONeal|access-date=April 16, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=April 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429010709/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shaquille-ONeal|url-status=live}}</ref> to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, who played high school basketball (he was an All-State guard) and was offered a basketball scholarship to play at [[Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball|Seton Hall]]. Toney struggled with [[drug addiction]] and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's [[Jamaicans|Jamaican]] stepfather, Phillip Arthur Harrison, a career [[United States Army|Army]] sergeant.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wise |first=Mike |title=Shaq to biological father: 'I don't hate you' |url=https://andscape.com/features/shaq-to-biological-father-i-dont-hate-you/ |work=[[Andscape]] |access-date=July 16, 2022 |archive-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702060821/https://andscape.com/features/shaq-to-biological-father-i-dont-hate-you/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="LAT Plaschke"/> O'Neal remained estranged from his biological father for decades; O'Neal had not spoken with Toney or expressed an interest in establishing a relationship.<ref name="LAT Plaschke">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-11-sp-plaschke11-story.html|title='Biological Didn't Bother'|first=Bill|last=Plaschke|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 12, 2002|access-date=January 21, 2011|archive-date=July 25, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725204949/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jun/11/sports/sp-plaschke11|url-status=live}}</ref> On his 1994 [[Hip-hop|rap]] album, ''Shaq Fu: The Return'', O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "[[Biological Didn't Bother]]", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father." However, O'Neal's feelings toward Toney mellowed in the years following Harrison's death in 2013, and the two met for the first time in March 2016, with O'Neal telling him, "I don't hate you. I had a good life. I had Phil."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://andscape.com/features/shaq-to-biological-father-i-dont-hate-you/ |title=Shaq to biological father: 'I don't hate you' |first=Mike |last=Wise |work=[[Andscape]] |publisher=ESPN |date=September 9, 2016 |access-date=September 10, 2016 |archive-date=April 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417044213/https://andscape.com/features/shaq-to-biological-father-i-dont-hate-you/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

O'Neal came from a tall family. His father and mother were {{height|ft=6|in=1}} and {{height|ft=6|in=2}} tall, respectively, and by age 13, O'Neal was already {{height|ft=6|in=6}} tall.<ref name="recruit">{{cite news |last1=Quinn |first1=Brendan |title='I had never seen anything like him': Shaquille O'Neal's recruitment was from another time - inside an extraordinary arrival |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2561725/2021/05/11/i-had-never-seen-anything-like-him-shaquille-oneals-recruitment-was-from-another-time-inside-an-extraordinary-arrival/ |access-date=June 2, 2024}}</ref> He credited the [[Boys & Girls Clubs of America]] in Newark with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do," he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team."<ref>{{cite web|last=Ryan |first=Michael |title=Where They Gave Me A Chance |work=Parade |url=http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2000/edition_02-13-2000/Boys_And_Girls_Clubs |date=February 13, 2000 |access-date=March 21, 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060628074957/http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2000/edition_02-13-2000/Boys_And_Girls_Clubs |archive-date= June 28, 2006}}</ref> Because of his stepfather's career in the military, the family left Newark, moving to military bases in [[Germany]] and [[Texas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.army.mil/article/122380/Shaq_sets_bar_high_for_Young_Lives__BIG_Stories_campaign/ |title=Shaq Sets Bar High for Young Lives, BIG Stories Campaign |publisher=United States Army |website=Army.mil |date=April 2014 |access-date=February 23, 2016 |archive-date=September 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911071825/https://www.army.mil/article/122380/Shaq_sets_bar_high_for_Young_Lives__BIG_Stories_campaign |url-status=live }}</ref>

After returning from Germany, O'Neal's family settled in [[San Antonio]], Texas. By age 16, O'Neal had grown to {{height|ft=6|in=10}},<ref name= "recruit" /> and he began playing basketball at [[Robert G. Cole Junior-Senior High School|Robert G. Cole High School]]. He led his team to a 68–1 record over two years and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year.<ref name="key moments">{{cite web |title= Key Moments In Shaquille O'neal History |work= [[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]] |url= http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2004-07-11/sports/0407110264_1_lucille-o-neal-shaq-attack-shaquille-rashaun-o-neal |date= July 11, 2004 |access-date= January 2, 2011 |archive-date= June 14, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120614142912/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2004-07-11/sports/0407110264_1_lucille-o-neal-shaq-attack-shaquille-rashaun-o-neal }}</ref>  His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification.<ref>{{cite book| first= Bill| last= McMurray| title= Bill McMurray's Texas High School All-Time Sports Record Book| edition= 6th| publisher= Four Star Publications}}</ref>  Cole High retired O'Neal's {{abbr|No.|Number}} 33 in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|first=David|last=Flores|title=Shaq relishes return to Cole to retire his jersey|date=March 7, 2014|newspaper=USA Today|url=https://www.usatodayhss.com/2014/david-flores-shaq-relishes-return-to-cole-to-retire-his-jersey|access-date=March 27, 2025}}</ref> According to O'Neal, he wanted to wear 33 because he had made a [[Hook shot|sky hook]] and received comparisons to [[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]], who wore 33.<ref name= number>{{cite news| url= https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1992/08/25/shaquille-shows-class-in-switching-to-no-32/ |title= Shaquille Shows Class In Switching To No. 32| first= Brian | last= Schmitz| work= [[Orlando Sentinel]] | date= August 25, 1992| access-date= July 14, 2017| url-status= live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908065336/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1992-08-25/sports/9208250132_1_shaq-catledge-oneal|archive-date=September 8, 2017}}</ref> In 2021, O'Neal's said his admiration for [[Patrick Ewing]] inspired him to wear 33.<ref name="Number33">{{cite web |last=Ganglani |first=Nicole |date=November 8, 2022 |title='I Wore 33 in High School and College Because of You' {{endash}} When Shaquille O'Neal Told Patrick Ewing That He Was His Favorite Player |website=basketballnetwork.net |url=https://www.basketballnetwork.net/old-school/when-shaquille-oneal-told-patrick-ewing-that-he-was-his-favorite-player |access-date=March 26, 2025 }}</ref>