Posted on 06/03/2005 12:56:08 PM PDT by El Conservador
MIAMI (AP) -- The family of George Mikan accepted Shaquille O'Neal's offer to pay for the late center's funeral expenses.
O'Neal said arrangements were finalized Friday. ``Everything's going to be handled,'' O'Neal said.
Mikan, the NBA's first dominant big man, died Wednesday night at a rehabilitation center in Scottsdale, Ariz., following a long fight with diabetes and kidney ailments. He was 80.
O'Neal said he greatly enjoyed getting to know and speak with Mikan on several occasions. Shortly after the Heat beat Detroit 88-76 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night, O'Neal said he would like to handle the funeral costs.
``I heard they were having some trouble, some problems, so if you contact the Heat office, I would like to pay for the funeral,'' O'Neal said.
O'Neal and Mikan are linked by leading the Lakers franchise to multiple NBA championships; Mikan carried the Minneapolis Lakers to five titles in a six-year span. O'Neal led the Los Angeles Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000-2002.
Excellent from Shaq's part.
I thought rich people did not use their money for good purposes. Oh wait..Democrats wrong again...
New respect for Shaq... nice move.
Way to go, Big Guy!
Class move. Shaq can be a big kid sometimes--spoiled, whiny, immature, lazy--but he seems like a generally pretty decent (and fun) guy. A lot of that can probably be laid to the fact that his stepfather was a career Army man (drill instructor, I believe).
}:-)4
Shaq seems to be a genuine human being. Very classy on his part. Makes me hope the Heat win the NBA championship.
I hear he'd like to pay for Kobe's funeral, too....
No need, Kobe's doing a fine job of burying himself.
Same here, much respect for the big guy!
Amen!
Memo to dads who ditch their children - payback's a female dog.
Can you dig it?!
Rare moment of class on the part of an NBA player. Nice to see for a change.
Surprisingly classy. Good for him.
He also does undercover work catching pedophiles for the Miami police - using the internet.
No doubt this a classy act and Shaq is a good guy. But such acts of kindness used to be handled anonymously and without fanfare on the donor's act. This is not to single out Shaq. But it is even classier to give and not expect to be recognized.
Yeah, Shaq is a reserve officer. This is a very classy gesture. I'm sure David Stern is verrry happy to have this kind of PR.
It's surprising coming from anyone, let alone an NBA player. But it really isn't that surprising coming from O'Neal. The guy has been a complete class act for his whole career. The part about him helping cops catch pedophiles is literally true. A real good guy, not just a really good NBA player.
He usually doesn't publicize this stuff. He was just interviewed on the day Mikan died and was speaking off the cuff. He's actually known Mikan for awhile, and Mikan's son characterized them as having a close relationship. So this isn't something he did for notoriety.
Amen to that.
There was an article on ESPN a couple weeks ago about the Mikan family's financial troubles. Shaq could have been more discreet, but he wasn't putting anything new out there.
The Anti-Bonds.
BTT for a class act.
Leni
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