Taahirah O'Neal 'excited' as NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal shares heartfelt fatherhood wisdom

Taahirah O'Neal, the daughter of Shaquille O'Neal, applauded and shared his candid message on fatherhood on her Instagram story. O'Neal was invited to the 'Dear Fathers Podcast' on Wednesday with the hosts Jesse Alex and Co-Host James Meeks.

'Dear Fathers' tells the stories of Black fathers from a variety of angles, emphasizing the positive and negative aspects of being a father. The podcast aims to humanize black fathers and their cultural influence by discussing their jobs, mental health, and finding a balance between everything.

Taahirah shared her excitement for O'Neal's debut on the podcast, writing:

"So excited for this episode to drop today! S/O to @meetjesseale and @dear.fathers for making this happen"

Taahirah O'Neal's IG story

O'Neal discussed candidly on various topics ranging from who his favorite kid is, to what O'Neal as a grandparent would look like. He was also asked about his relationship with his (step) father and biological father, and most importantly, who he is as a father.

In the podcast, Alex asked O'Neal what it was like to become a first-time father and the responsibilities that came with it.

O'Neal responded with

"A man's job is to protect provide and love, period. Like I could remember times on Christmas he said [O'Neals step father], hey man when you have daughters you'll understand this.

O' Neal continued "So with me having a daughter I know I was going to have to be in super (2x) protective mode and I realize you're also gonna have to protect the mother."

Who is Taahirah O'Neal?

Taahirah O'Neal was born on July 19, 1996. She is the only child of Shaquille O'Neal and Arnetta Yardbourgh, his previous girlfriend. She grew up in Houston, Texas, after being born in Orlando, Florida.

Taahirah is an American communication expert and social media marketing guru. She is employed by PepsiCo as a communication analyst.

Taahirah started her career prior to graduating from college. From 2016 to 2017, she worked as an intern in social media marketing at AY and Associates. She later worked as a social media assistant at her father's business, Mine O Mine, from September 2017 to March 2020.

Shaquille O'Neal on wanting his kids to be successful on their own

Shaquille O'Neal has expressed his desire for his kids to be successful on their own merit on various occasions.

“I don’t care if you play basketball. I don’t care about none of that,”

He continued , "Listen, I got six kids. I would like a doctor, somebody to own a hedge fund, a pharmacist, a lawyer, someone that owns multiple businesses, someone to take over my business. But I tell them I’m not going to hand it to you. You gotta earn it.”

He has also previously talked about his not letting his children inherit his wealth unless they earn two degrees or more.