Shaquille O’Neal Denies Plan to Play in Mexican League

Well, so much for the “Shaquille O’Neal to Mexico” rumors. According to O’Neal, several news outlets acted quickly in falsely reporting he was considering playing in the Mexican Basketball League. On Sunday, the Diesel quickly shut those rumors down, and while doing so, he also gave an intriguing glimpse into his personal life, revealing he is involved in 60-plus(!) business ventures. Via Nola.com: “‘No truth’ to rumors that he might play in the Mexican Basketball League. ‘It’s kind of unfortunate that so-called experts have to get their sources from the Internet,’ O’Neal said. ‘It’s backwards. Especially like when people from ESPN know me and they can call me and ask me, but somebody else said it so they want to be the first to report it even though it’s not true. However, we could talk, but nobody has contacted me.’ One year removed from retirement, O’Neal now focuses primarily on his entrepreneurial efforts. ‘I take care of a lot of business,’ he said. ‘I own a lot of businesses. I just look at them; I don’t try to run them. (President Dwight) Eisenhower said the smartest leaders are the ones who hire people smarter than them. So I got some really smart people working for me, and I just manage them. I always look at the books and make sure everything’s all right up there. I own car washes, 40 24-hour fitness centers, 55 Five Guys and a lot of other stuff.'”