Damar Hamlin suffering a cardiac arrest during an NFL game shook many including NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. In one of the recent episodes of the Big Podcast with Shaq, Shaquille O’Neal, Nischelle Turner, and NFL veteran Spice Adams talked about Hamlin’s situation. The four-time champion sent his thoughts and prayers for Hamlin’s recovery. He also acknowledged Hamlin’s help to the community. Shaq hoped Hamlin would recover soon and continue to be healthy after the recovery. However, his latest statement might not be appreciated by Hamiln’s supporters and family.

Days after Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest, a celebration during a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns received a huge backlash. The Los Angeles Lakers legend recently gave his opinion about the backlash.

Shaquille O’Neal on the celebration

In the latest episode of the Big Podcast with Shaq, NBA legend Jamal Crawford joined Shaquille O’Neal and Nischelle Turner. Like every episode of the show, the crew talked about some of the hot topics around the country and the world. In one instance, Shaq brought up the backlash for the CPR celebration. Even though the Lakers legend admitted the situation was not right, he argued the players were not being disrespectful to Damar Hamlin. He questioned, “You don’t think they were being funny were they?”

Turner responded that the celebration was not well thought of. Shaq replied, “No that celebration has been around for a long time.” The Hall of Famer was apparently not impressed with the backlash because the celebration is very common in the NFL and has been ever-present.

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While Crawford and Turner admitted the celebration was around for years, they argued that the timing was not good. The Big Diesel then acknowledged Turner’s argument and stated that he would not have celebrated that way. He also noted that he was just trying to look from both sides before commenting about something.

The CPR celebration 

The CPR celebration came during a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns. After a sack on Brows quarterback Deshaun Watson, Steelers’ Alex Highsmith remained flat on the ground when a teammate performed the CPR celebration.

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Many were not happy with the action. Fans around the world called out the Steelers for the celebration. Even though the celebration has been around for years, performing it on the same week of Damar Hamlin’s injury was not taken so well.