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There aren’t many people on this planet who are familiar with the downsides of being an Absolute Unit quite like Shaquille O’Neal, who used the 325 pounds he packed onto his 7’1″ frame to dominate in the paint over the course of his legendary basketball career.
Shaq racked up close to $300 million in contract money during his time in the NBA (in addition to earning an estimated $200 million from endorsement deals while playing in the league), and he hasn’t exactly been shy about spreading some of that wealth in retirement.
Over the years, the big man has repeatedly splurged on the random acts of kindness that have resulted in him buying a fleet of new cars for an entire family, picking up the dinner tab for every single person at a restaurant in New York City, and covering the cost of an engagement ring for a guy he ran into at a jewelry store in Atlanta.
Now, Shaq has once again stepped up to help out a teenager who ran into an issue O’Neal is all-too-familiar with.
According to Yahoo, Eric Kilburn Jr. has had a bit of trouble playing football at Goodrich High School in Michigan thanks to the lack of companies that produce cleats big enough to fit the size 23 feet the 14-year-old who currently stands at 6’10” has been burdened with.
Last month, USA Today chronicled Eric’s plight—which apparently came to Shaq’s attention before he decided to spring into action.
Under Armour and Puma both offered to scan Eric’s feet to produce some custom pairs of shoes he’ll be receiving in the coming months, but in the meantime, he’ll be able to rock the size 22 sneakers Reebok originally produced for Shaq before sending them to him on behalf of the iconic center.
O’Neal also personally reached out to Eric to offer him some advice on dealing with life when you’re larger than life in addition to promising to connect him with a cobbler who makes custom dress shoes in Kilburn’s size.
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