Shaq recalls feud with Kobe Bryant, urges Saints stars and Drew Brees to remain unified

Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal explained that NFL side News Orleans Saints must stick together as a team despite the unfortunate events that took place with Drew Brees over the past week. Shaq recalled his relationship with late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and how the media played a massive part in dividing the two NBA greats during their time together with the Western Conference giants. The New Orleans Saints reportedly held a teleconference meeting that lasted over an hour on Thursday in relation to the Drew Brees apology and Shaquille O'Neal, who was part of the Saints' meeting, urged the team to remain unified

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Shaq on the conference during Drew Brees apology

Following an interview with Yahoo Finance on Wednesday, NFL icon Drew Brees received plenty of hate for his comments about kneeling during the national anthem. The Drew Brees comment in relation to disrespecting the US national anthem was slammed by a number of sporting icons including the 41-year-old's Saints teammates Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara and Emmanuel Sanders. Following the backlash, Brees issued a public apology but the Saints held a conference call on Thursday to ensure that their players were on good terms in a bid to prevent any divides.

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NBA legend Shaq was also part of the conference call as a guest and revealed that most of Saints stars had accepted the Drew Brees apology during the conference call. While speaking on NBA on TNT, Shaq revealed that the Saints' African-American players wanted Brees to 'act more and talk less'. However, following the Drew Brees apology, Shaq had a message for the Saints over unison and urged the teammates to stick together with Drew Brees and prevent the media from controlling their relationship. The 48-year-old used the example of the Shaq and Kobe Bryant relationship at Lakers which turned sour in 2004, mainly due to the media causing a divide between the NBA greats. Shaq admitted that the Lakers could have won five more NBA championships had the media not made a story on his relationship with Kobe Bryant.

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Shaq and Kobe Bryant relationship at Lakers

Shaq and Kobe Bryant spent eight seasons together with the Lakers completing a three-peat between 1999 and 2002. However, the Lakers traded Shaq to the Miami Heat before the 2004-05 season after his sour relationship with Kobe Bryant made headlines. Reports claimed that the pair were constantly arguing and had personal differences regarding their respective roles with the Lakers, which led to Shaq leaving the NBA giants while Kobe Bryant was re-signed as a free agent. 

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