After years in the spotlight as one of the biggest (and I do mean that literally) basketball stars, Shaquille O’Neal announced his decision to retire with little fanfare in a 16-second video posted to twitter Wednesday afternoon.
“We did it, 19 years baby, I want to thank you very much. That’s why I’m telling you first, I’m about to retire. Love you, talk to you soon.”
Mike Wise of the Washington Post writes a great piece reflecting on his time spent covering the massive NBA star.
“If you’ve never had a 7-foot-1, 325-plus pound man make room for himself in the back of a small aircraft by basically draping his legs over yours until you cannot breathe in the middle of a humid central Florida summer, boy, have you missed out,” Wise wrote.
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That’s has to with some sport or something like a sport, right?
Oh, and how is that tagged under technology?
He made the announcement with Twitter, also known as a method of communication via social media, ie: a technological tool.
That’s a stretch. If he had done it on TV would you have tagged it Tech as well?
Much discussion has been made about the fact that he didn’t use a more traditional means to communicate his decision to retire, such as a television press conference with the aid of NBA officials.
There’s been plenty said about how celebrities are now turning to social media to communicate more directly with fans and this is a great example of that.
As to your question about TV, it sounds like a challenge. The next announcement made via the boob tube for a presidential run, retiring athlete or a construction unit taking over an Indian burial ground, I’ll tag “technology.”
awww, c’mon LoneReader, if you were young, smart,beautiful and educated, you would find everything in life, technological (except the spiritual but I degress).
Whoops – “degress” ? I don’t think that’s a word. Allison, in case you didn’t figure it out, I was describing you.
Thanks ArVet, I did figure that out – I’m not too sure if it was a compliment or insult concerning my tagging the story as “technology,” but I understand you were describing me.