Shaquille O'Neal Doesn't Want the "Celebrity" Status Attached to His Name

Shaquille O'Neal has been in the limelight for years. He is a well-known person, having been a star on the basketball court, even to being a sports analyst. But he doesn't want to be considered a celebrity. The New York Post reports Shaq recently did an interview and said, "These celebrities are going freaking crazy and I don’t want to be one. I denounce my celebrity-ness today. I’m done with it." Easy said than done but it makes you wonder why he feels that way. Well, Shaq is shedding light on the way some celebs act. He continued saying, "I don’t want to be in that category. Celebrities are crazy, they really are. Don’t call me that anymore. These people are out of their freaking minds with how they treat people, what they do, what they say. That’s never been me. I never want to be looked at like that." He says he isn't like that. Shaq said he is a regular person who followed his dreams and made it. He wants to be known as a decent and kind guy. And he is. Do you remember when he decided to pay off a stranger's engagement ring that one time? Shaq does a lot of things for strangers. He continued and said, "I came from nothing. But, just because I made it doesn’t mean I’m bigger than you, smarter than you — just because I have more money doesn’t mean I’m better than you. I’ve never been that way and I never will be that way. So I don’t want to be in that category of people." We hear you Shaq! “When they talk about Shaq, what do you say? ‘He’s a nice guy.’ Because what else can you be? You’re either nice or you’re the A-word, and I definitely won’t be looked at as the A-word.I want people to say, ‘Bro, he’s nice. He didn’t have an entourage. His people didn’t take my phone because I took a picture and threw it.’" So do you call Shaq a celebrity, no matter what he says?