Shakil O’Neill has revealed that he voted for the first time in his life. On “The Big Podcast with Vegetables,” the 48-year-old Los Angeles Lakers center admitted Wednesday they had never voted before and described filling out an absentee ballot.
O’Neill said, “You know I’ve always wanted to be honest on my podcast. I’ve never voted before America.” “But, now that I’m campaigning all this, and you know one thing I never want to do is pretend.”
“In other words, America, I voted for the first time, and it feels good,” he told his co-hosts, shocked by the entry.
After being pressured by co-host John Kincaid, O’Neill explained that he “didn’t understand the electoral college system.” He ran in the 201st election when the then Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but he still lost to Donald Trump, who emerged with more votes and became president.
He said he had “no excuses” for not voting earlier, but was credited with being more “involved” in helping elect officials such as Atlanta’s district attorneys, Funny Willis and Fafida Lafayette, Louisiana and sheriffs in Naples.
During Game 1 of the NBA Finals last week, O’Neill sat next to friend and former President Barack Obama as virtual fans in the game. His co-hosts were surprised that he didn’t even vote for them.
“I don’t think you voted for Obama,” Kincaid said. O’Neill did not say who he voted for in the next election.
Over the summer, O’Neill launched the #MystartingFiveChallenge, a voting initiative by Boston Celtics star Jason Tatum and former First Lady Michelle Obama, when we teamed up with All Vote to get more people to register and vote. “Everyone has to go out and vote,” he said in July.
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