Watch: Shaq's 'Shark Week' dive goes very wrong as rogue shark infiltrates cage
Shaquille O’Neal got the honor of hosting duties for Discovery’s annual “Shark Week” extravaganza, as Carcharodon carcharias — the great white shark, for the non-Latin inclined — and all his fishy friends capture the public’s imagination in an ongoing effort to rehabilitate the animal’s image from the damage done to it by Peter Benchley’s collection of popcorn flicks.
Shaq, who went on record saying this would be a great opportunity for him to overcome his own fear of sharks, instead saw that fear up close and personal when a shark decided to mix it up with the former NBA center inside the restricted area of the NBA great’s shark cage.
Of course, this was all caught on camera.
Sharks in the Shaq Cage!@SHAQ kicks off #SharkWeek, TONIGHT at 9p on @Discovery. #ShaqWeek pic.twitter.com/ga6FPF9O6p
— Shark Week (@SharkWeek) July 22, 2018
A shark somehow got through the metal bars in a clear case of “Sharktin’ a Fool,” something sure to draw plenty of raspberries from Shaq’s co-hosts Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley when “Inside the NBA” returns in October.
Shaq, before entering the water, said, “Give me my goggles. I’m going in. I ain’t afraid of no shark.”
Co-host Rob Riggle replied, “You should be a little afraid, but that’s OK. You got this, Shaq. All day — all day.”
Suddenly, one of the safety divers yelled, “There’s a shark getting in the cage! There’s a shark in the cage! We’ve got to get him out.”
There's a shark in the @SHAQ Cage!! #ShaqWeek is now streaming on #DiscoveryGO. Watch it here –> https://t.co/mNNKQC0Rlc pic.twitter.com/OlfSdf9Dx2
— Shark Week (@SharkWeek) July 23, 2018
And to Shaq’s credit, he kept his cool, trusting the crew to do their jobs as they pulled him to safety with the consistency and poise of Shaq shooting a free throw.
Oops, bad analogy.
The divers and crew, the consummate professionals, pulled the shark-sized center to safety, and everything ultimately worked out for the best.
Executive producer Will Packer said, “[Shaq] was apprehensive at first, but once he saw the other divers and camera guys out in the water he said, ‘If those guys can do it, I’ll do it,’ and he went for it. He said, ‘Let’s get down there and see what happens.’”
The New York Post pointed out that the incident was unusual — so unusual, in fact, that it hadn’t happened in 30 years of “Shark Week.”
Packer explained what happened.
“The space between the bars was different than normal and the shark was able to wiggle into the cage,” Packer explained. “Shaq hasn’t moved that fast since he was in the NBA.”
Fortunately, nobody got hurt, and the shark eventually got released from shark jail on its own recognizance after it was determined that scaring a Hall of Fame basketball player is not a crime.
And the Internet got itself one heck of a laugh out of it.
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