Former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal will pay all the funeral expenses — “whatever his mom wants” — for Louisville football signee Dexter Rentz, who was shot and killed in Orlando over the weekend. Rentz, who signed with the Cardinals in December, was reportedly caught in the crossfire of a shootout.
“He was on his way, he really was,” O’Neal said of Rentz to ESPN “I don’t know what it feels like to lose a son, but I know what it feels like to lose someone. This one hurts my heart. It really does. I wish things like this would never go on. It’s just so sad, and I want to be able to help his family. I wanted to take care of it.”
O’Neal spent four seasons starring for the Orlando Magic and currently resides in the city.
Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield released a statement on Sunday about the untimely passing of Rentz:
“We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Dexter Rentz. He was a great young man who had a contagious personality and was able to light up a room with his smile. He was a great kid to be around and he will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Rentz family during this extremely difficult time.”
Very cool move by Shaq to step up here and create at least a modicum of positivity from an otherwise irredeemably horrific situation.