“We drop it to 50, like man, that’s too cold” – Shaquille O’Neal once forced his daughter’s boyfriend to sleep in a cold gym

Shaquille O’Neal’s parenting handbook is influenced by his stepfather, Phillip Harrison, who raised him from the age of 2. Because Harrison was in the military, he raised O’Neal in a strict, disciplined and traditional household. That’s why, as a father, Shaq is very protective of his children, especially his three girls.

O’Neal has two daughters – Amirah and Me’arah from his ex-wife Shaunie and he also has a daughter named Taahirah from former girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh. It’s unclear which of these three daughters he was talking about but during an episode of “The Big Podcast”, the Los Angeles Lakers legend told the story of how he gave the “cold” treatment to the boyfriend of her daughter who tried to sleep over at his house.

“I didn’t know she had a boyfriend, so she comes one day and you know, he’s cool and I’m being nice, whatever,” said Shaq. “And I’m waiting, me and Kenny waiting towards the end of the night. So he tries to go upstairs, we’re like, ‘No, no, no…get you a** in the back.'”

Shaq left his daughter’s boyfriend shivering inside his “dungeon”

O’Neal has a rule that his daughters’ boyfriends cannot sleep over at his place. But because he did not want to be rude to her guest and disappoint her, “Shaq Daddy” agreed that the boyfriend could stay overnight, but not in her room.

And so “The Big Aristotle” turned his personal gym which is located at the back of his huge house into the guy’s sleeping quarters for the night. Not only that, Shaq said that he and his cousin Kenny made sure that the boyfriend was not comfortable there.

“We put him in the back dungeon, and me and Kenny was playing the AC games on his a**. We drop it to 50, like man that’s too cold. Bring that up to 70. We watched him all night. We gave him one cover and a couch. He didn’t get a good night’s sleep,” added O’Neal while admitting that he and Kenny watched the kid’s ordeal via the gym’s surveillance camera.

His daughters are his favorites among his children

While that sounds cruel, it’s who Shaq is. Destructive as he was on the basketball court, he had a soft spot for his daughter. O’Neal once admitted that he was a mama’s boy and used to take extra special care of his mother, Lucille. A couple of years ago, he also revealed that his daughters are more precious to him than his sons.

“I like my girls a little bit better,” O’Neal said. “Because as a man, you have to protect, provide and love for your woman. I trust them more because they’re more sensitive, they’re more caring, and they’re thinkers. You know how boys are…I tell my boys, when y’all get 18, you all got to go. Girls can stay as long as they want. Take your time. Go to college. Get your masters, get your doctors. I’ll pay for it.”

Shaq’s daughters are now all grown up. Taahirah is now 29 years old, while Amirah is 23. The youngest girl, Me’arah, will be a sophomore next season, plays college ball for the Florida Gators. But whoever’s boyfriend that was, will never forget the cold treatment he got from her dad.