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Shaquille O'Neal may run for sheriff of Atlanta-area county in 2020

Posted at 8:02 AM, May 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-10 08:02:37-04

Retired basketball star Shaquille O’Neal has endorsed literally everything under the sun, but now he’s hawking a new product: Shaq for Sheriff.

In 2020, O’Neal may run for sheriff of Henry County, Georgia, where he resides just southeast of Atlanta.

“This is not about politics. This is about bringing people closer together,” Shaq told NBC affiliate 11Alive News. “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 I serve.”

He said he hasn’t completely made up his mind yet, but his ability to relate to anyone makes him perfectly suited for the job.

“I can throw on a suit and have a conversation with Bill Gates. I can go in the hood and talk to the homies, and talk to the children,” O’Neal said.

You’ve probably seen Shaq endorsing The General Car Insurance or Icy Hot patches on 9 On Your Side since he retired in 2011. This would be his first foray into law enforcement, but he said he could make up for that by putting together a great team.

"I know how to run a team,” O’Neal said. "My style is going to be to surround myself with guys who have been doing it way longer than I’ve been doing it. Surround myself with smarter people.”

Watch O’Neal chat with 11Alive’s photographer Bruce Mason in the video below.