“I just say what I saw, I saw in his eyes he was scared” - Shaquille O'Neal issues response to Ben Simmons for calling him a hater

Shaquille O'Neal has responded to Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons calling him a hater. On the most recent episode of "The Big Podcast with Shaq," O'Neal shared his thoughts on the matter. He said he spoke from a player's perspective.

"If you're great, you can't be no hater," said Shaq (H/T ClutchPoints). "First of all, I'm just seeing what I see as a player... If you don't like what I say, that ain't my problem. There's never a personal attack on you. I just say what I saw. I saw in his eyes, he was scared."

Shaquille O'Neal added that struggles are part and parcel of the business, and Ben Simmons should learn to deal with the criticism. The former showed concern for the latter's issues with mental health, wishing him well as he ramps up his return to action this season.

"Everybody goes through struggles. We all do. But this is the game we play. This is the life we live. You're gonna take criticism. They pay us a lot of money. Somehow you have to deal with it, okay? Now I'm not gonna talk about mental health things. I know that's a real thing.

"This is the first time he's talked in two years. So, I wish him well and hope he does what he does."

Ben Simmons' poor performance during the 76ers' poor playoffs showing in 2021 drew criticism from the team's fans, coach Doc Rivers and co-star Joel Embiid. Simmons refused to suit up for the team during the 2021-22 season. He cited mental health as the reason behind his decision to stay on the sidelines.

Simmons also didn't suit up for the Brooklyn Nets after getting traded in February. Shaquille O'Neal and many other former players, analysts and fans took shots at the three-time All-Star. However, he dealt with a back issue during that stretch and had to undergo surgery to recover from it this offseason.

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What did Ben Simmons say about Shaquille O'Neal?

Shaquille O'Neal revealed he had a conversation with Ben Simmons when the latter refused to play last season. Simmons told him about the issues he dealt with, and since then, O'Neal has stopped taking shots at Simmons.

However, Simmons called out Shaq for not reaching out to him. During a recent appearance on "The Old Man & the Three" podcast, Simmons said (H/T Fansided):

“I DM’d him (Shaq) and I was like, ‘why are you saying this if you don’t even know the story?’ ‘Cause he always wants to say like yo, we’re LSU brothers, you’re my brother, all this, that.

"If you’re my LSU brother you would’ve reached out by now and it’s been months since I’ve been dealing with this. You ain’t reached out once and said like, ‘hey, you OK? Like, what’s going on.'"

Ben Simmons wasn't impressed with Shaquille O'Neal for not respecting the "LSU" connection. That was despite the latter always mentioning it when talking about the Brooklyn Nets' forward.

Simmons revealed that several people linked to the NBA reached out to him, which explains why he seemed upset about O'Neal not reaching out to him during his difficult phase over the last year.