Warriors reportedly pushing for Shaquille O'Neal to tone down the JaVale McGee hate

The Warriors are apparently concerned with how 'Shaqtin' a Fool' is impacting McGee's reputation

It might have started in all good fun but the Golden State Warriors are getting fed up with Shaquille O’Neal’s constant ridicule of JaVale McGee.

The two traded Twitter barbs late Thursday night, which resulted in O’Neal essentially threatening McGee. Not wanting his teammate to be left alone, Kevin Durant came to McGee’s defense, calling the Hall of Fame big man “childish” while also disparaging O’Neal’s overall game. And now, taking a page from Durant, the Warriors organization is doing its part to stop O’Neal from picking on McGee.

According to ESPN, the Warriors have contacted Turner Sports to get O’Neal to stop making fun of McGee on his popular “Shaqtin’ A Fool” segment on “Inside the NBA”:

Sources told ESPN that the Warriors contacted Turner officials to express concern about TNT’s yearslong McGee coverage on the “Shaqtin’ a Fool” segment on the popular “Inside The NBA” show, with the team contending that the ongoing negative portrayal of the veteran center is doing unnecessary damage to McGee’s reputation.

A Turner source confirmed the discussions with the Warriors and told ESPN that “the matter has been discussed internally” after a Twitter feud erupted Thursday night between O’Neal and McGee.

This news might sound like it should be appearing in a grade school letter to the parents but believe it or not this is something that is happening in the NBA. The Warriors contacted O’Neal’s bosses to complain about his treatment of McGee. But it could be equated to a grade school setting since O’Neal is truly bullying McGee.  

And while this all might sound rather silly, it does have some merit. O’Neal can be at times merciless when it comes to picking on McGee and clearly the “Doctor Strange” parody he helped to create touched a nerve with the Warriors big man. Plus McGee’s reputation has been sullied by “Shaqtin’ A Fool.” He wants to be seen as a credible basketball player rather than the court jester of the league. It is a very valid desire for McGee, especially since he is having one of the best years of his career with the Warriors. 

O’Neal did say after the airing of his latest hit piece on McGee that “starting next week,” he wasn’t going to pick on the Warriors big man anymore. And with the news that the Warriors are actually upset, you would have to think that O’Neal’s bosses at Turner would hold him to his word.