Retired NBA legend and champion Shaquille O’Neal is no stranger to making the lives of other people easier. The 53-year-old recently extended his generosity toward a young wrestler by gifting her a brand new car after he became aware of her difficulties with going to practice.
Per PEOPLE, Tamara Humphries, 18, caught the eye of O’Neal after he saw a few online videos of her wrestling prowess. Impressed with her abilities, the former Los Angeles Lakers star ultimately got in touch to ask how he could help propel her career.
“So I called her parents,” O’Neal said in a video shared on Instagram. In an interview with KDKA Radio, Humphries said that O’Neal got in touch with her and her parents on “a casual Tuesday.”
“He was like, ‘Hey are you interested in any sponsorships or anything like that? Can I get in touch with your parents?’” Humphries, whose wrestling name is Firefly, added.
The 18-year-old also said that after O’Neal got in touch, she notified her sister and they both screamed “for like five minutes straight.”
“He was like, ‘What do you need? What’s something that’s holding you back right now?’ ” Humphries said, adding that she told O’Neal she had to put wrestling on hold as she was working the entire summer to save money to get a car to enable her to attend practice and tournaments.
“My mom was like, ‘My daughter has been working really hard to get a car, and he was like, ‘Okay well let me know what car you want,’” she recalled.
O’Neal ultimately kept his promise and gifted Humphries a brand new 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander.
“After struggling to get to practice, not making tournaments due to the distance, Ubers and Lyfts back and forth from college, I was blessed with a Mitsubishi Outlander 2025 from the one and only SHAQUILLE O’NEAL @shaq with the help of the amazing @effortless_motors crew at @palmpalmpgh,” Humphries wrote on Instagram.
“Thank you God, thank you family, and most importantly thank YOU for believing in me. I couldn’t do anything without the love support you all drown me in. I will not let you down if you continue to trust me. God is good. We made it everyone, and it’s only the beginning.”
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