Shaq (the Big Venus de Milo) poses as a statue in Harvard Square
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Giving ammunition to the critics who have said he has been motionless on the court the last couple of seasons, Boston Celtics center Shaquille O’Neal went to Harvard Square on Thursday, posed as a statue and allowed fans to take photos with him for nearly an hour.
O’Neal, who had tweeted his plans earlier in the day, sat on a bench in Harvard Square and fans immediately began to surround him. Despite all the commotion, Shaq remained motionless, only cracking an occasional smile at comments from onlookers.
Earlier this month, O’Neal announced his intention to become a human statue during an appearance on a Boston radio station and promised to tweet just before he did it.
He tweeted a message about his stunt about 30 minutes before he arrived, causing many Celtics fans to head to Harvard Square.
His Celtics teammates were amused at his antics.
‘What’s he going to do?’ Paul Pierce asked. ‘He’s just going to sit there? Somebody get a picture of that and tweet it.’
When Kevin Garnett was asked by ESPNBoston.com if he’d come out for the festivities, he playfully scoffed at the idea.
‘Absolutely not,’ said Garnett. ‘I will not be taking pictures of Shaq.... I’m cool. I see him in here; I’ll take my pictures around here.’
-- Houston Mitchell