NBA
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Shaq–McGee feud escalates on Twitter

Jane Bracher

SUMMARY

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Shaq–McGee feud escalates on Twitter
After years of teasing, the jokes turn into nasty insults and a physical threat

MANILA, Philippines – Shaquille O’Neal and JaVale McGee have taken their feud to a new level in a Twitter spat since Thursday, February 23 that escalated into insults and intimidation.

The two engaged in a heated exchange through a series of Twitter posts in which words such as “dumb ass,” “bum ass,” “stupid,” and “coon” – an offensive label against African Americans – were thrown around.



 



 

The Golden State Warriors big man, who reportedly was responding to a “Doctor Strange”–themed skit of O’Neal making fun of McGee, then followed that up with a couple of tweets seemingly referring to the TNT analyst.



 



 

Jokes then turned into nasty insults and a physical threat as O’Neal responded angrily on Twitter.



 



 



 



 

McGee replied, quoting O’Neal’s tweets.



 



 

The 44-year-old O’Neal, a Basketball Hall of Famer, has been teasing McGee over the years through his weekly lowlight-reel show “Shaqtin’ A Fool,” where the 29-year-old McGee is often depicted as a bad basketball player for all his on-court bloopers.

McGee called out O’Neal in the past but it did not go any farther.

The Mercury News columnist Marcus Thompson II provided important racial context on the beef between O’Neal and McGee – especially during Black History Month – emphasizing how O’Neal has essentially participated in degrading the intelligence of a fellow African American.

The Warriors, according to ESPN, have decided to intervene and communicated with Turner Sports “expressing concern” over “TNT’s yearslong McGee coverage on the ‘Shaqtin’ A Fool’ segment.”

Golden State coach Steve Kerr and Kevin Durant have also come to the defense of McGee during media availability on Friday.

Kerr pointed out how the “Shaqtin’ A Fool” association has created a bad reputation for McGee that he admitted also affected his own initial perception of the center. Though he later on proved those perceptions to be wrong.



 

Durant, on the other hand, called O’Neal’s antics “childish.”



– Rappler.com

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