Shaquille O’Neal is a big kid in the body of a 7 foot, 300+ pound behemoth.  So perhaps this story shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anybody, as ridiculous as it may seem.

According to WSB-TV in Atlanta, Shaquille O’Neal is the subject of a police investigation due to a bit of workplace tomfoolery.  It’s being alleged that Shaq tackled co-worker Robert Williams in an incident O’Neal’s lawyer is calling “nothing more than horseplay” and injured him in the process.

Well, it’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt.  Because now O’Neal is being investigated for assault:

“(The co-worker) alleged Shaquille O’Neal tackled him to the ground causing injury to his back while they were at work at Turner Studios,” said Sgt. Greg Lyon with the Atlanta Police Department.

The incident took place on May 19 at the studios located at Techwood Drive and 10th Street.

Robert Williams went to the Atlanta Police Department and said that Shaq tackle-punched him, knocking him down and falling on top of him.

Sources told Young that Williams suffered serious injuries.

“I don’t know the extent of his injury, but I have heard that as well, that his injuries were severe to his back,” Lyon said.

No one ever called police that night. O’Neal has not been charged. But the police department is still doing an investigation.

Shaquille O’Neal’s trademark on Inside the NBA is physical comedy.  That’s what he does best.  You can imagine Shaq is the same person on the set as he is off the set.  When you have a 300 pound person horsing around with people (especially when they aren’t Charles Barkley, who can match him in the girth department) somebody is eventually going to get banged up a little bit.

Here is The Big Aristotle beating up Ernie Johnson for a TV segment.  Thankfully EJ didn’t sue or file charges…

Here’s another clip where Inside the NBA discusses Shaq’s propensity for tackling members of the cast and crew onto the “Ray Lewis couch” and what happened when Barkley tried to tackle Shaq in a Turner lounge.

http://youtu.be/de_NNJ8kk-4?t=56s

That clip also highlights several other bits of physical comedy involving Shaq including Ernie Johnson breaking a chair on his back.  This Jackass element is all part of the fun of Inside the NBA.  It’s just unfortunate that it now has to end up in the legal system.

[WSB-TV]

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