Shaq's Message to Saints: "Don't Let the Media Divide You"

Shaquille O'Neal shared words of encouragement & unity to the New Orleans Saints during a virtual team meeting last week.

"They're going to try to divide you, just like they divided us with the Lakers!" - Shaquille O'Neal to the Saints Players

NBA on TNT conducted an “at home” show last week, where Shaquille O’Neal addressed the dialogue inside the New Orleans Saints team meeting on Thursday. According to Sean Payton, the team meeting was scheduled two weeks ago and not to address the Drew Brees interview comments. “So about two weeks ago, I was contacted to speak to the Saints players. My speech was about team and unity, then this happened.” O’Neal said.

The team spent the entire meeting addressing Brees’ “insensitive” comments. The current situation will stay “in house,” but more of Shaq’s message to the Saints came forward this week. The Basketball Hall of Famer compared the current state of the Saints locker room to the Los Angeles Lakers of the early to mid-2000s. 

"They're going to try to divide you, just like they divided us with the Lakers! Me and Kobe, we had a great thing going, but the media divided our team"

"We could have won five more championships! Stay strong. Don't let the media divide you! Don't let social media divide you!"

- Shaquille O'Neal to Saints players & staff last week

The New Orleans Saints locker room is one of the strongest in the league. The Saints look to restore the cohesion of the locker room. A day later, the Saints field general won over some of his teammates with his response to President Donald Trump's earlier praise of Brees. 

Only time will tell if the Saints locker room is strong enough to put this behind them. Drew Brees' days under center for New Orleans could be drawing to a close. The Saints embark on a “Super Bowl or Bust” season in 2020. This year has been full of adversity for the team. They have dealt with COVID-19, Payton's illness, Brees' previous statements, George Floyd's death, protests around the country, death threats to the Brees family, and how the team will look in 2020. After all, Brees said it best... 

“Anyone can see the adversity in a difficult situation, but it takes a stronger person to see the opportunity.”  

Drew Brees

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