Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal is now among the NBA players and personalities who say they believe the Earth is flat.
According to a report by NBC Chicago, O’Neal joins Cleveland Cavalier Kyrie Irving, Golden State Warrior Draymond Green and Denver Nugget Wilson Chandler who all have said they believe the Earth is flat instead of a floating round ball.
However, Irving later said his statement was made to mess with reporters.
Say what?
Irving first made his assertion on the Road Trippin' podcast in February:
“It’s OK to think something that, I guess, the majority wouldn’t think. I just didn’t like the fact that us being able to celebrate our individuality and things that we ultimately hold on to, and just because we don’t believe what the world thinks or what the majority thinks, then why punish that?" -Kyrie Irving
LISTEN: Road Trippin' Podcast(Feb. 17)
For his part, Shaq said he came to the flat Earth conclusion after driving cross-country so many times in his career.
“It’s flat to me,” he said.
While some players have said they think the world is flat, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told the media he does in fact believe the Earth is round.
Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson agrees with Silver. He told TMZ:
"Let me be blunt. We live in a free country, so you ought to be able to think and say whatever you want. If he wants to think Earth is flat, go right ahead—as long as he continues to play basketball and not become head of any space agencies."
Meanwhile, Twitter lost its mind, of course (just check out the hashtags #flatearth and #flatearththeory). And Jimmy Kimmel got a laugh from it all:
Watch Dave Chappelle laugh off Kyrie Irving's "Flat-Earth" belief on #Kimmel https://t.co/mgAbYaypGT pic.twitter.com/VJofPdCLb2
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) March 22, 2017
