i simply don't agree that a beat writers and columnists are experts on the psyches of the players they write about.
In comparison to the people here? Come on, now.
you're vastly overestimating these folks expertise. for real the nba columnist for yahoo is basically just a blogger. and no one dreams of writing sports columns for business insider. i'm not saying that their opinions aren't probably well-informed, but they really aren't that much better informed than anyone else you know who really loves the nba.
There is some evidence - not the strongest evidence, but evidence nonetheless - that he was pressured. People who watch his career closely felt the "joke" was extremely out of character, and I maintain they're much closer to being experts on the matter than you are, even if you disagree that they are experts at all
tbh none of them mention his character. they just say they found it confusing. both yahoo pieces indicate that they do believe he was joking, and the first entertained the possibility from the start:
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/shaquille-oneal-isnt-a-flat-earther-after-all-im-joking-you-idiots-183258371.htmlLast we left you with the NBA’s flat-Earth society, we pondered whether Shaquille O’Neal’s theory was as earnest as Kyrie Irving’s appears to be, or if the Pro Basketball Hall of Famer was just trolling us all.
...
That, as a belief, is wild. That, as a joke, is quite elaborate and a bit confusing. It was hard to imagine a guy with a doctorate degree in education actually thought the Earth was flat. It would be hilarious if he actually believed that theory. That he just said a bunch of stuff he doesn’t really believe, well, Shaq isn’t too concerned about whether you find it funny.
In contrast, there is very little evidence to corroborate the "Shaq really was just kidding" narrative.
1) shaq said he was kidding. seems relevant.
2) kyrie irving did the same thing in the same industry at the same time and didn't take it back. no one even talks about it anymore. still moving sneakers.
3) shaq does silly shit all the time, like play genies in shitty 90s movies and pretend to be a cabbie for lols.
4) there's no evidence to begin with that anyone really gave a shit beyond a handful of sports columns that are already forgotten. literally none of the sports-talk media i consume even covered it at all. anecdotal, sure, but i mean ffs the very podcast in which he 'recanted' had 59 minutes of shit they thought was more important to talk about. it's difficult for me to reconcile that with the narrative that he was being laughed out of his career.
5) shaq is obviously smart enough to know that driving across the country can't confirm or reject the earth's flatness. no one with a phd could be so naive. he was clearly joking.