*Shaquille O’Neal seems to firmly believe that the Earth is flat — at least that’s what he claimed in an interview on the Australian radio show “The Kyle & Jackie O Show” this week. Some may recall the former NBA star first making the remark back in 2017, and apparently, he has yet to be convinced otherwise. (Watch it above starting at approximately the 9:05 mark.)
During the chat, O’Neal recalled taking a long flight from the U.S. over to Australia which he based his latest argument on, stressing that after flying for 20 hours, “not once did I go this way,” while positioning his arm diagonally. “I flew straight,” adding that at no point during the trip did the plane ever “tip over” or “go upside down.”
When radio host Kyle Sandiland then interjected by asking how the aircraft could fly across the world in multiple directions, O’Neal stood his ground, continuing, “It’s still a straight line, you don’t go under.”
The conversation then led the 50-year-old to share his belief that the Earth doesn’t actually spin, nor does he believe it’s round-shaped. “You know they say the world is spinning? I’ve been living in a house on a lake for 30 years, not once did the lake rotate to the left or right.”
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Wait. There’s more …
Whether Shaq is joking or is just plain ignorant on the subject, several scientists have spoken out on why O’Neal’s comments are potentially problematic, according to Newsweek.
Sam Bentley, a geology and geophysics professor at the star’s alma mater, Louisiana State University, told Bleacher Report in 2017 that the ex-NBAer should “act responsibly” considering he has such a large platform (millions of followers on Instagram and Twitter).
“If Shaquille O’Neal is claiming that the Earth is flat based on his observations driving from California to the East Coast, then he is not using all of the available data,” Bentley said.
Derek Muller, who earned a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Sydney and runs the YouTube channel “Veritasium,” agreed.
“It leads their fanbases to consider ridiculous ideas to be true,” Muller noted. “Obviously, these people have god-like reputations among some of their fans. They’re clearly prominent, and even if you don’t fully believe them, it definitely raises the visibility of the claims.”
He added that it “does damage in the long term” because “you have a group of people who don’t know what to believe.”
“When you don’t have those established consensuses, the world makes bad decisions.”
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