Shaquille O’Neal can officially add another unexpected title to his lengthy résumé. The NBA legend was named an honorary FBI special agent during a ceremony Thursday, Sept. 17.
O’Neal received the distinction during the FBI National Academy’s Session 299 graduation in Quantico, Virginia. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the honor while recognizing the latest class of National Academy graduates.
The ceremony celebrated law enforcement officials from departments across the country. Patel also highlighted O’Neal’s years of support for law enforcement.
“This session is historic,” Patel wrote on X while announcing the graduation.
O’Neal’s new title is honorary. It does not make the basketball legend a sworn FBI special agent. The FBI has separate training requirements for newly hired special agents.
The National Academy is also separate from the FBI’s new-agent training program. Instead, the academy is an advanced program primarily designed for experienced law enforcement leaders.
The 10-week residential program includes academics, leadership development, physical fitness and opportunities to build relationships between agencies. The program dates back to 1935.
Shaq Brings His Humor To Quantico
O’Neal did not let the seriousness of the occasion stop him from having some fun. The Hall of Famer addressed the graduates during the ceremony and praised them for their work.
He then found an opportunity to bring longtime friend Charles Barkley into the conversation.
“And if you see Charles Barkley, arrest him,” O’Neal joked.
The comment was another chapter in the pair’s decades-long friendship and playful rivalry. O’Neal and Barkley battled against each other during their NBA careers.
Their rivalry famously boiled over during a 1999 Lakers-Rockets game. The two eventually became friends and later reunited as television analysts. O’Neal currently works alongside Barkley as part of TNT’s popular “Inside the NBA” crew.
O’Neal Has A Long History With Law Enforcement
The FBI honor is far from O’Neal’s first connection to law enforcement. His interest in police work dates back decades and continued throughout his professional basketball career.
While playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, O’Neal completed training with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Reserve Academy. He later became a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Port Police.
After joining the Miami Heat, O’Neal continued pursuing his interest in law enforcement. He became a Miami Beach reserve police officer in 2005.
That same year, O’Neal also worked with authorities on efforts targeting people accused of sexually exploiting children online. His law enforcement résumé continued growing after his playing career.
In 2015, O’Neal was sworn in as a reserve police officer in Doral, Florida. The following year, he was sworn in as a sheriff’s deputy in Clayton County, Georgia. His latest distinction comes more than a decade after his retirement from professional basketball.
O’Neal played 19 NBA seasons and won four championships before retiring in 2011. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. Since leaving the court, O’Neal has built a second act spanning television, business, music and philanthropy.
Now, the 54-year-old can add honorary FBI special agent to that list. Still, his first public order of business appeared to be settling an old score. If Barkley happens to encounter one of Session 299’s graduates, Shaq has already made his request clear.