Shaquille O’Neal is reportedly under investigation by Atlanta police for allegedly assaulting a co-worker. According to a police report obtained by WSB-TV’s Ryan Young, Shaq has been accused of tackling fellow Turner Studios employee Robert Williams at work last year and injuring his back.
O’Neal has not been charged with anything. Sources told Young Williams suffered serious injuries.
“(The co-worker) alleged Shaquille O’Neal tackled him to the ground causing injury to his back while they were at work at Turner Studios,” Atlanta Police Department Sgt. Greg Lyon said. “I don’t know the extent of his injury, but I have heard that as well, that his injuries were severe to his back.”
Shaq’s attorney Dennis Roach said the incident was simply a matter of friendly “horseplay” and that no one intended for anyone else to get injured. Williams’ attorney said Robert is currently recovering from surgery and denied that the injury resulted from horseplay.
“He does state emphatically, that the permanent injuries he received were not the result of participation in any form of ‘horseplay,'” he said in a statement.
If there’s one thing we know about Shaq, it’s that he loves to mess around. Look no further than the comments Phil Jackson made about him recently for evidence of that. We don’t know what happened to Williams, but it’s hard to imagine the 7-foot-1 Shaq attacked him in a violent manner. We’ll just have to wait to see what the investigation reveals.
