Shaq, the new HBO docuseries on the NBA giant, takes its oddest turn when former Los Angeles Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti gets into Shaquille O’Neal’s police cosplay phase. Apparently, there was a time when O’Neal would begin his treatment sessions by forcing Vitti against the nearest wall and patting him down like a dime store perp. When Vitti ultimately stood up for himself, the 7ft player literally punched down and dropped the smaller man to the floor. As Vitti struggled for air, O’Neal’s enablers scrambled to shroud the incident from Lakers higher-ups.
Believe it or not, this anecdote is played for laughs; even O’Neal and Vitti giggle about it now. But the real joke is ultimately on the viewer who sat through two and a half hours of hagiography simply to be reminded that the largest man in the room was a child.
