# Am I misremembering this about Shaquille O'Neal? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** basketball-nba\ **Created:** [February 7, 2022, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021 "2022-02-07T02:33:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/1 "2022-02-07T02:33:57Z")
I was only 7 years old when the Orlando Magic were playing the Houston Rockets in an NBA Finals in the 1990s and I seem to recall that back then, the use of a gorilla to refer to black people was not considered racist and that the stadium or city of Orlando even had a big temporary gorilla statue in honor of Shaq during the Finals and Orlando fans dressed up in gorilla masks in the stands. Am I remembering things wrong? I’m not trying to start a political debate, just asking if this was indeed common back then in the mid-1990s. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/2 "2022-02-07T03:20:15Z")
I can say that I remember no such thing happening in Houston during that series. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/3 "2022-02-07T03:28:06Z")
I don’t recall the incident that you seem to recall, but I will note something regarding the below: > [@Velocity](#): > > and I seem to recall that back then, the use of a gorilla to refer to black people was not considered racist I don’t think that this was generally true in the 1990s in the U.S. I’ll note that, a decade earlier, in 1983, Howard Cosell, who was the lead announcer for ABC’s “Monday Night Football,” referred to Alvin Garrett, an African American wide receiver for the Washington Redskins (as they were known then), as (spoiled because it’s racially insensitive) “a little monkey”. Cosell’s remark was criticized by many as racist, and despite support for Cosell from figures such as Muhammad Ali and Jesse Jackson (as well as Garrett), Cosell left MNF after the 1983 season. FWIW, I don’t believe that Cosell was intentionally using the term with racist intent – he tried to defend himself afterwards by explaining that he used the term for his own grandchildren, and footage was found showing him using the same term for a white player (Mike Adamle) a decade earlier. Generally speaking, although Cosell could be a blowhard, he was also a longtime advocate for African American athletes, including, most notably, Ali, with whom he became friends. I suspect that it was an unfortunate use of the term on his part, but the reaction to it demonstrates that, by the early 80s, such terms as the OP mentions were, indeed, already being seen as racist. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/4 "2022-02-07T05:18:30Z")
I watched a lot of NBA games in the 90s and I was a big Sonics fan. In high school I wore a Sonics jacket every day, that was my thing back then. I don’t recall anything close to this, and I think it would’ve been pretty shocking if it happened. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/5 "2022-02-07T05:36:22Z")
There was a white NBA player around that time known as “The Vanilla Gorilla.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/6 "2022-02-07T05:38:57Z")
Specifically, Joel Przybilla; I suspect that the nickname came about not only because he was white, but because his surname rhymes with “gorilla” and “vanilla.” > **[Joel Przybilla Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more |...](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/przybjo01.html)** > > Checkout the latest stats of Joel Przybilla. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/7 "2022-02-07T05:47:18Z")
Does this have anything to do with Shaq claiming that every time he visits a zoo, [the gorillas freak out.](https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/shaquille-oneal-says-gorillas-freak-out-when-he-comes-near-and-zoo-miami-executive-confirms/articleshow/89391911.cms#:~:text=During%20a%20recent%20episode%20of%20%22The%20Big%20Podcast%20with%20Shaq,they%20want%20to%20fight%20him.&text=%22I've%20been%20to%20every,For%20real.)? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/8 "2022-02-07T06:15:25Z")
I think they smell all the Icy Hot and want to destroy whatever is singing their nostrils. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/9 "2022-02-07T06:46:11Z")
![](https://c.tenor.com/z2WWzjot04sAAAAd/cat-wiggling-shaquille-o-neal.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/10 "2022-02-07T07:34:47Z")
I don’t know about the specific case, but I’m almost 65 years old and it’s been a racial insult to compare a black person to an ape for as long as I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/11 "2022-02-07T11:20:40Z")
There was an NCAA Player who called himself “The Gorilla Pimp” in the 1990s and that’s what the announcers would sometime refer to him as but I swear I can’t find anything about him at the moment probably because he washed out of the NBA so nobody cares. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/12 "2022-02-07T13:10:13Z")
When I was in high school our team played in the same league as Cambridge Rindge and Latin, which had a young Patrick Ewing. He was such a dominant force that his games attracted a lot of attention, including fans of the other team throwing bananas on the court. Needless to say, this was not welcome and fights weren’t uncommon. It was certainly a full blown and widely understood insult in the late 70s. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/13 "2022-02-09T01:11:21Z")
The Phoenix Suns still have a gorilla for a mascot today. [https://www.nba.com/suns/history/history\_gorilla\_80.html](https://www.nba.com/suns/history/history_gorilla_80.html) The Suns played the Bulls in the exciting 1993 NBA finals, maybe that’s how you got a gorilla association with basketball? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/14 "2022-02-09T10:19:20Z")
I was listening to Shaqs podcast and he referred to himself as a “Silverback” jokingly so maybe there is some weird truth to it. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/15 "2022-02-09T14:55:55Z")
The Sacramento Kings had a Gorilla mascot at one point as well. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-misremembering-this-about-shaquille-oneal/959021/16 "2022-02-09T18:45:15Z")
I had just moved to Orlando in the spring of 95’ and don’t remember any gorilla masks or statue. I went to the now demolished FanAttic store on Colonial Ave. many times during the playoffs and would have remembered seeing that.