Shaquille O’Neal holds up a shirt with “Shaqramento” printed on it as he poses with Sacramento Kings majority owners Vivek Ranadive, left, and Mark Mastrov, in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. O’Neal was welcomed as a new minority owner of the KIngs and promised to help restore the franchise to its winning ways and mentor to Kings center DeMarcus Cousins. AP
SACRAMENTO, California — Shaquille O’Neal has apologized to all Sacramento Kings fans for his verbal jabs during his playing career and is promising to restore the franchise to its winning ways as a minority owner.
Declaring the new name of the city “Shaqramento,” O’Neal took several steps to explain his past swipes at his introductory news conference Tuesday.
He said he was only trying to rile up people and market the game when he called the franchise the “Sacramento Queens” while winning three titles with the Los Angeles Lakers.
O’Neal also offered insight into his role with the Kings and the vision of new majority owner Vivek Ranadive. He says he’ll be a mentor to center DeMarcus Cousins and help the team build the NBA’s first “indoor-outdoor arena.”