One of the biggest sports stories of the past week was basketball great Shaquille O'Neal's retirement announcement. That it was done via the video service Tout made it a big story in the social media and internet marketing arena as well. Never before has such a prominent player ended his career this way, and since Tout is a new service, Shaq brought them a lot of attention too.
Baseball great Mike Schmidt's retirement speech was a typical athlete's farewell, but O'Neal's nonchalant announcement sets a new standard. He was in control, and his message reached millions, including the media (and his team!).
Starting in the mid-90s, "Shaq" helped unite professional sports with the greater entertainment world, as a celebrity rapper and spokesman for many products. Even with his retirement announcement, he has proven himself the consummate showman. We haven't seen the last of "Big Aristotle"! Hopefully he will take over some of Manute Bol's work in Africa or some similarly high-profile role.
Shaq later held an official retirement press conference to make the announcement.
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