Shaquille O'Neal Challenges COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate During Heated Exchange, Fans Praise Him For His Stance

Shaquille O’Neal has been hailed by fans for hitting a slam dunk on the argument against COVID-19 vaccine mandates after claiming it should not be “forced.”

The 49-year-old NBA legend, who retired from professional basketball in 2011, weighed in on the money-spinning scheme involving two New York nurses.

Julie DeVuono, 49, and Marissa Urraro, 44, allegedly forged fake vaccine cards and made over a whopping $1.5m from the scheme, according to reports in the US.

Joined by co-hosts Nischelle Turner and Anthony ‘Spice’ Adams on The Big Podcast, O’Neal claimed that neither DeVuono nor Urraro should be sent to prison.  

Entertainment Tonight co-presenter Turner used her own experience of working on the CBS-produced show in regards to a private company’s policies on vaccine mandates.

The TV host believes that an employee should be shown the door if they aren’t willing to comply with the vaccine mandate.

O’Neal disagreed with Turner’s position by insisting that a worker shouldn’t be “forced” into getting the vaccine if it is “going against [their] morals.”

During his podcast, the former Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat superstar clashed with Turner in a heated war of words on the mandate.

“Look, I encourage everybody to be safe and take care of your family, I do,” Shaq said.

“But there’s still some people that don’t wanna take it. And you shouldn’t have to be forced to take something you don’t want.”

Turner initially argued that people are not “being forced” to take the vaccine before pointing to the mandate at CBS.

“I don’t think people are being forced to take… well, there are some. There are, I mean, listen, we have a mandate at CBS,” she said.

O’Neal interjected by saying it is a “forced” mandate and doubled down when Turner tried to explain her “point” about CBS’ position on workers’ vaccinations.

When Turner claimed that it was “not forced,” the four-time NBA champion responded: “It is forced. Because if the man don’t want to take it, the man gonna get fired.”

O’Neal’s comments made the rounds on social media, with the Hall of Famer earning praise from fans for speaking out against vaccine mandates in the US.

O’Neal previously called for the Brooklyn Nets to trade Kyrie Irving after the NBA star’s refusal to take the vaccine ahead of the current basketball season’s start.