Shaquille O’Neal said he thinks the earth is flat, and we have questions

In a podcast with Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O’Neal talked about how he thinks the earth is flat. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on whether he is kidding or not. He does have a great sense of humor. And it would be in his nature to play a little joke on people by saying something many people would deem ridiculous.

The basketball star and onscreen personality cited some strange examples for his supporting arguments. And they certainly are, well, interesting talking points.

Regardless of his actual stance, Shaq surprisingly isn’t the first person from the NBA to voice this opinion.

Kyrie Irving has also stated the he believes the Earth is flat.

But Shaq had some pretty clear arguments for believing in a flat Earth. He started with a general skepticism for education.

He said, "It’s true. The Earth is flat. The Earth is flat. Yeah it is. Yes, it is. Listen, there are three ways to manipulate the mind — what you read, what you see and what you hear. In school, first thing they teach us is, ‘Oh, Columbus discovered America,’ but then he got there, there were some fair-skinned people with the long hair smoking on the peace pipes. So, what does that tell you? Columbus didn’t discover America."

He then added that, based on his own travel experiences, he’s only experienced the Earth as a flat planet.

He added, "So, listen, I drive from coast to coast, and this sh*t is flat to me...You mean to tell me that China is under us? China is under us? It’s not. The world is flat."

To be fair, the only people who physically see earth as round are those who have floated around it in space. So if you need to see something with your eyes to know it’s true, perhaps he could consider going to space to check it out himself.

Strangely enough, the “flat earth” trend has gained some serious traction within the NBA.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver actually addressed it in his annual state-of-the-league address at the All-Star Game, clarifying, “I believe the world is round.” And he suggested that Irving was making some broader social commentary about fake news in this country.

Either way, we hope Neil DeGrasse Tyson steps in to help explain that the Earth is indeed round.