Shaquille O’Neal added yet another feather to his cap after he received a doctoral degree in education from Barry University on Saturday.
The former Miami Heat and NBA star graduated from the university alongside 1,100 students and walked during the 10 a.m. Commencement ceremony at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, according to a release.
O’Neal graduated with a 3.8 cumulative grade-point average after spending more than four years working toward his degree.
"It's a proud moment for me, I'm glad to be here. The work was very rigorous but very enjoyable and it was fun," O'Neal said during a news conference.
According to the Miami Herald, O'Neal got down on one knee so the chair of the university's organizational learning and leadership program could place a light blue hood around the seven-foot tall graduate.
O'Neal then lifted one of his professors in excitement as he walked across the stage.
As O'Neal descended the stage's steps, he told NBC 6 it felt "pretty good" to be graduating. "It's Dr. O'Neal to you," he added.
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“Kids can still call me Shaq, but adults should call me Dr. O’Neal,’’ O’Neal told the Miami Herald on Wednesday. “I did this for two reasons. One, I wanted to continue challenging myself, see if I could do it. I was a medium-level juvenile delinquent, didn’t believe in school. But my parents instituted no pass-no play in our house, and that changed my life. Also, a lot of kids look up to me, especially my own kids, and now that I’m not playing anymore, I want them to have something to look up to me for.’’
But O'Neal said he's not done yet.
"I think I'm going to try law school next," he said.
