By Perry Green
AFRO Sports Editor
Cavs center Shaquille O’Neal recently applied for a special deputy position with the Cuyahoga County sheriff's office in Ohio. (AFRO Photo/Perry Green)
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(November 4, 2009) - NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal is interested in continuing his part-time law enforcement career in Ohio now that he plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, {The Associated Press} reported.
According to AP, Cuyahoga County sheriff's office spokesman John O'Brien said O’Neal recently applied for a special deputy position, which would give him the right to carry a gun and make arrests but he wouldn’t be considered a paid, formal employee.
The 37-year-old star athlete has worked with law enforcement agencies before. He graduated from the Los Angeles Police Academy while playing with the Los Angeles Lakers and joined the L.A Port Police as a reserve officer, {AP} reported.
When O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2005, he briefly worked with the Department of Justice as an honorary U.S. marshal, assisting a unit that tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.
He later contacted Miami Beach police and was eventually sworn in as a reserve officer, accepting the same duties and privileges as given in L.A.
According to AP, he also served a similar role as a volunteer officer with the Tempe Police Department in Arizona when he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in 2008.
O’Neal’s interest in law enforcement is a surprise to many, considering the wealth and fame he’s garnered as a leading athlete. But the self-proclaimed “Superman” is the first to admit he’s not interested in joining the police to be a poster boy.
“I put a lot into it, and when I am done playing I plan on going undercover and then being the sheriff or chief of police somewhere, either Miami or Orlando, I don't know yet,” O'Neal told {AP} in 2005. “Everyone knows the love I have for the people who defend the streets and the people who defend our country, the armed forces, the Army, Navy, and the Marines. I want to do something like that, help the community.”
Shaq has been interested in the law enforcement field since he was a teenager. His stepfather was a sergeant in the Army and two of his uncles were officers and like his relatives, O’Neal said he wants to earn his position in the field like any other officer.
“I want to become an officer the right way,” O’Neal told {AP} in 2005. “Like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is a famous basketball player. I want to really learn the business.”
One lesson O’Neal has already learned is how to choose his words wisely if he expects to represent a law enforcement agency. According to {AP,} Shaq had his special deputy badge revoked by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in June 2008 after using a racially derogatory word and other foul language during a spontaneous rap performance posted on entertainment gossip Web site TMZ.com.
“I want his two badges back because if any one of my deputies did something like this, they’re fired,” Arpaio told {AP.} I don’t condone this type of racial conduct.”
Shaq’s derogatory rap was directed towards Lakers star Kobe Bryant, taunting his former teammate for losing to the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals.
“I was free-styling. That's all,” Shaq told ESPN.com. “It was all done in fun; nothing serious whatsoever.”
Shaq does, however, take his law enforcement career seriously and is awaiting approval by the Ohio state agency before completing the required 36 hours of academy training and exam. Then he’ll be back to blocking shots, both on and off the court.