When Shaquille O’Neal overheard a worried young man discussing with a store employee different ways he could pay for his engagement ring, the kind gentle giant gave the cashier his credit card and insisted on buying the ring for him.
Shaq was shopping for a pair of earrings at a Zales in Atlanta, when he noticed a shy young man discussing different ways to pay for his engagement ring with a store employee. The store was having a sale, and the young man was asking if he could put a down payment on a ring to keep it at the sale price as it was a little out of his budget.
“He told me his budget and picked out two rings that were within that budget,” Zales employee Chaz Cherry explained. “The only problem was that the sale, to keep it at that price range, ended that day, and the next day the price was gonna jump back up to a little over his budget.”
The young man went outside to make a phone call, and then returned inside again to discuss his options.
While looking for earrings close by, Shaq could hear the young man’s conversation with the employee.
“I was in Zales looking for some loop earrings,” Shaq later said. “I seen the guy coming in. He was just so shy. He was saying, ‘Hey, how much do I owe to pay off my ring?'”
Being the friendly man that Shaq is, he walked over and asked the young man how much his ring was.
“I was like, ‘My man, how much is the ring?'” he recalled.
After he told him the price, Shaq handed the cashier his credit card.
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it,” Shaq kindly said.
The young man was surprised and thanked him, but refused his offer. Yet Shaq insisted and let the young man know that he does this all the time and just wants to make people smile.
“At first he didn’t want to take it,” Shaq said. “I said don’t worry about it. I do it all the time. I’m just trying to make people smile. That’s all.”
Chaz, who was working at the store, was moved by Shaq’s kindness, and he took a quick video on his phone of the beautiful moment. After Shaq handed the cashier his credit card, he shook the young man’s hand and gave him a pat on the back as he walked away.
Shaq did not intend for his good deed to get out and later when asked shared that,
“I didn’t mean for that to get out because I don’t do it for that.”
“I’m into making people happy, so whenever I leave the house, I try to do a good deed every day… The guy just came in, he was a young kid, hardworking guy, trying to pay for his engagement ring on layaway. I said, ‘you know what… I got it and I’ll take care of it,” Shaq said.
Shaq has been known for his generosity and random acts of kindness for strangers, many of which go unnoticed. He previously helped get large shoes for a 6ft 2in middle schooler, he reached out to a struggling family and paid for their son’s funeral, and each year he likes to give out free turkeys on Thanksgiving and free presents on Christmas to those in need.
“The other day, me and my mom went furniture shopping, and this lady, she had an autistic daughter. She was also looking to pay for some furniture. I just took care of her. I’m into making people happy. Whenever I leave the house, I just try to do a good deed,” Shaq said.
Watch This Heartwarming Video Of Shaq Buying A Young Man His Engagement Ring:
You are Loved.
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