NBA stars irate after Shaq's son gets snubbed, call for boycott

By Ross Kelly January 17, 2018 at 11:52am

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The rosters for the McDonald’s All-American Game were just released, and there is one glaring omission.

Shareef O’Neal, one of the top high school players in the nation and the son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, was not among the 24 players picked for the game.

The younger O’Neal has committed to Arizona and is considered a borderline five-star prospect. ESPN ranks him as a five-star prospect, but 247 Sports has him as a four-star prospect.

Shareef expressed disappointment in not being selected to the game, but said he’ll use the snub as motivation.

https://twitter.com/SSJreef/status/953362752466182144

https://twitter.com/SSJreef/status/953364146375946240

LeBron James knows a thing or two about the McDonald’s All-American Game because he was the game’s MVP in 2003. It was held in Cleveland that year, and the Akron-born James also won the Slam Dunk contest put on by McDonald’s.

James took to Instagram to give some words of encouragement to Shareef, who considers James to be like family.

https://twitter.com/SSJreef/status/953650861489627136

Shaq also expressed disappointment in his son not making the team like he did back in 1989.

“You know they forgot somebody,” said Shaq. “It’s all good tho. We gonna make y’all remember that last name: O’Neal.”

Shaq’s former Phoenix Suns teammate Matt Barnes decided to call out McDonald’s by name for snubbing O’Neal, going so far as to call for a boycott of McNuggets:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeC28bql6oX/?hl=en&taken-by=matt_barnes9

Arizona basketball had a six-year string of having a player in the boys game, but it appears that run will come to an end this year. But the Wildcats did get a player on the girls team for the first time in program history.

Among the players who did make the boys team are the No. 1 player in the nation, R.J. Barrett, a Duke commit; Zion Williamson, the top uncommitted player; and Bol Bol, an Oregon commit and son of the late Manute Bol.

The McDonald’s All-Star Game will take place in Atlanta on March 28.

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