Legendary star refuses Xmas presents: 'You show me a movie where Santa receives gifts and I'll take one'

Jennifer Kline
Updated ·1 min read

Santa's got a pretty great delegate working outside the North Pole.

2019 marks 28 years of Shaquille O'Neal's annual "Shaq-A-Claus" event, during which the former NBA star offers presents to underprivileged children. And according to Page Six, for Shaq, gift-giving a one-way street.

"I do not accept gifts," O'Neal told the outlet. "You show me a movie where Santa receives gifts and I'll take one."

Over the years, the 7-foot-1 basketball player has spoken candidly about his own difficult upbringing in New Jersey; his biological father was addicted to drugs and the two were estranged for most of his life. "I know what it's like to wake up and not get one single toy on Christmas," he told TMZ in 2018, "and I don't want any child to have to go through that."

This year, O'Neal is headed to an elementary school in Atlanta to play Santa for more than 800 students. In addition to toys, games and snacks, the kids will receive free haircuts and enjoy tunes from a live DJ.

"Nothing is more rewarding than making a child's Christmas a little brighter when their families may not have the means," he said in a statement.

Charity organizations have long been a major part of O'Neal's life as he's been on both sides of the equation: He's previously said his childhood involvement in the Boys and Girls Club kept him out of harm's way and fostered his interest in basketball.