NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal says he is thinking about running for office, telling an Atlanta TV station that he will try to become sheriff in 2020.
O'Neal didn't clarify to WXIA where he would enter a sheriff race. The 2000 NBA MVP holds residency in Florida and Georgia.
"This is not about politics for me. It's something that I always wanted to do. It's just about bringing people closer together," Shaq said Friday. "You know, when I was coming up, people love and respected the police, the deputies. And I want to be the one to bring that back, especially in the community that I serve."
O'Neal is an honorary deputy in Georgia's Clayton County and has been a reserve police officer in Los Angeles; Miami Beach; Tempe, Arizona; Golden Beach, Florida; and Doral, Florida.
Despite limited experience, he said he could put together the right people to help him in the job.
"I know how to run the team," O'Neal said. "My style is going to be to surround myself with guys that have been doing it way longer than I've been doing it, surround myself with smarter people. And I know it'll be successful."
While O'Neal says he is ready to run a sheriff's office, he plans to steer clear of managing a city.
"Mayor no, I would never run for mayor," O'Neal told WXIA.
