What was supposed to be a photo that talks about how basketball transcends borders became the center of hate among NBA fans as Shaquille O’Neal and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan linked up in Istanbul, Turkey.
At first, the photos didn’t seem to be hurtful as Shaq was there to promote basketball and help boost the Turkish basketball grassroots program by visiting the Turkcell Basketball Development Center. However, NBA fans saw beyond that and lashed out at Erdogan.
@peter_lohn lashed out and said, “F***ing islamo-fascist wannabe dictator.”
Fucking islamo-fascist wannabe dictator. pic.twitter.com/kjj7hckyto
— Peter Lohn (@peter_lohn) January 20, 2026
@DrKafula thought it was fake and added, “Now wait a minute?!!! Is this AI? or what?!”
While @sophsportss pointed out, “Looks like old style russian propaganda.”
Erdogan and O’Neal had a bit of a shootaround before signing basketballs and shaking hands. They also took a couple of photos with some of the grassroots players of the Turkish national team.
“It’s the year of the dictator”: NBA fans react as Shaquille O’Neal gets called out by former Celtics big man
The hate didn’t stop there as NBA fans found an ally in the form of a former Boston Celtics center, Enes Kanter Freedom, who’s known for his political commentaries after his life on the court.
As Shaq met Turkish President Erdogan, Freedom asked, “At what point do you choose morals over money?”
In a lengthy post, Freedom explained what kind of a dictator Erdogan is, with him murdering thousands of innocent civilians in Kurdish villages, helping out the radical group ISIS, as well as using refugees as a weapon to threaten and blackmail Europe.
NBA fans took Freedom’s side and called Shaq out.
@AriMEden said, “That’s disappointing. Always thought Shaq was a classy guy. Maybe he needs to read up on this.”
@DopeSayles added, “It’s the year of the dictator homie.”
While @Blockchainwork5 told the painful truth, saying, “Sad part is no one gives a f**k.”
What began as a basketball-focused visit ended up highlighting just how quickly sports and politics collide — especially online.
