Monday, August 19, 2002
Shaq a no-show at youth basketball camp
The Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. — Organizers were at a loss to explain why Shaquille O'Neal failed to show up Sunday at a youth basketball camp and charity game bearing the Los Angeles Lakers star's name.
People paid up to $250 each for tickets to the two-day clinic and a celebrity game Sunday night, which was supposed to feature O'Neal and other NBA players.
Toronto's Vince Carter, Portland's Dale Davis and former NBA star Robert Parish were at the game, which capped the Shaquille O'Neal Tampa Celebrity Basketball Weekend.
“Everyone's disappointed: the kids, the parents, the community,” said promoter Darryl Madison of Paramount Celebrity Management Co.
O'Neal had a contract with the event paying him more than $50,000, Madison said.
O'Neal also did not attend a dinner with Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Friday that was part of the camp program.
Madison said O'Neal was in the Orlando area, where he owns a home, but he hadn't heard anything from the player or his representatives.
Calls to O'Neal's agents and a Lakers spokesman were not returned.
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Shaq a no-show at youth basketball camp