Right: Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe, pictured at her controversial swearing-in ceremony, has said of O'Neal's role, 'He's here for a speaking tour, good on him, and he's also here for PointsBet which is about gambling, which is about destroying families'.
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Arguments in favour of using Shaq O'Neal to promote the Indigenous Voice to Parliament
1. O'Neal's high public profile will draw Australians' attention to the issue of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament
Supporters of Shaquille O'Neal's involvement in promoting the Indigenous Voice to Parliament argue that the former NBA champion's high public profile will help to draw attention within Australia to the debate surrounding the Voice.
O'Neal is a highly popular and widely known sports figure who has also moved into rap and DJing. O'Neal came to Australia in August for a series of performances as a speaker, a DJ and in-store appearances in Melbourne and Sydney. Finally, he took part in a shooting contest at Star Sydney's 24/7 Sports Bar. All events were sold out with fans queuing for blocks to see him at in-store appearances.
Averill Gordon, Lecturer in Public Relations at Auckland University of Technology, believes that drawing on O'Neal's popularity will generate widespread national and international awareness and support for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Gordon has stated, 'Athletes are a great way to internationalize an issue as sports and music are key themes used to drive most global PR campaigns.' She further argues, 'The biggest challenge in a public relations campaign is getting people who aren't aware of an issue to be aware of it. Shaquille's engagement and subsequent communication means that people are becoming aware of this issue and may even be taking action. It also creates global traction that flows back to Australia and spreads the message further, creating global interest that ironically increases Australian awareness.'
It has been claimed that O'Neal has appeal for young Australians who are likely to be curious about any issue to which his name is connected. Some promoters of the Voice have seen O'Neal's involvement as a good way of sparking initial interest in the issue. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has explained, 'The fact is that Shaq's appearance means that people are talking about it. Shaq appeals to a whole bunch of people, many of whom would have been hearing about the Voice to Parliament for the very first time...I make no apologies for saying I'll engage with anyone, anywhere, anytime about these issues and anything we can do to raise the profile of this issue is a good thing.'
Mr Albanese said in their brief meeting the basketballer turned DJ had agreed to highlight the campaign for a Voice to parliament through his social media channels. He has also agreed to record a promotion. The Prime Minister stated, 'Shaq has that record of...bringing people together of different backgrounds which is consistent with our approach to a constitutionally recognised voice to parliament.'
The Prime Minister further stated, 'Shaq is someone who is well known to younger people, and one of the things that we have been doing is trying to mobilize support for the Voice to Parliament by talking with sporting figures.' Stressing O'Neal's suitability for the role, the Prime Minister also claimed, 'Mr. O'Neal does a lot of work in the U.S. about social justice and lifting people up who are marginalized, including through sporting organizations.'
Co-author for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament proposal, First Nations academic, Marcia Langton, has stated, 'Thinking practically, the advantage for us in him coming to our aid is that young Australians will ask themselves "What is Shaq on about now?" (then) they'll take a look and find out about it." Langton has further argued that O'Neal's appeal is particularly strong among Indigenous youth. She observed, 'He is a global hero to young black men and women because of his sporting prowess and his great personality.'
Several commentators have referred to O'Neal's appeal among young black Australians. Hannah McGlade, from the Kurin Minang people, is an associate professor at Curtin law school and a member of the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues. Professor McGlade has stated, 'Not a follower of basketball, I had only an inkling of his star power. But Shaq, I've come to learn, is no mere celebrity; his basketball history is practically unparalleled. This man also is loved by a great many Aboriginal youths for whom basketball has long been embraced.'
2. O'Neal's involvement will heighten Australia's awareness that Indigenous recognition is a global issue
Supporters of Shaq O'Neal lending his presence and support to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament argue that O'Neal's involvement will help Australians recognise that Indigenous rights are an issue being addressed all around the world and that Australia must not fall further behind in acknowledging the country's obligations to First Nations people.
Many Indigenous rights activists stress the importance of Australia recognising that its progression toward equity for Indigenous people is part of an international struggle. Hannah McGlade, from the Kurin Minang people, is an associate professor at Curtin law school and a member of the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues. Professor McGlade has stated, 'Ambassadors for the voice are sensible. Of course, they should largely be Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people from this country, but to rule out international figures is parochial and shortsighted. Australia lags the world in terms of recognition of Indigenous rights and treatment of Indigenous peoples, and racism is a global issue that Black Lives Matter highlighted so powerfully.'
The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has emphasised that Australia's international standing will grow when we fully meet our national responsibilities toward our Indigenous citizens. Mr Albanese stated, 'this will improve the nation, it will improve our self-confidence in the way we see ourselves, but it will also improve the way we are seen by the world...Australia will be seen more positively when we demonstrate our maturity as a nation, recognising our full history.'
Mr Albanese suggested Australia needed to make itself accountable before the world for the wellbeing of Australia's First Nation's peoples. Referring to what Shaq O'Neal would already know about Indigenous conditions in Australia, the Prime Minister stated, 'What he does know and what the world knows is about the gap that is there between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in life expectancy, in health outcomes, in education, in housing, in infant mortality. The world knows about these issues.'
United States reports of O'Neal supporting the Indigenous Voice to Parliament during his trip to Australia highlight O'Neal's interest in the issue and present Australia's efforts in a positive light. An article published in Essentially Sports on August 28, 2022, stated, 'Shaq loves Australia and its people. He approached Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take part in a press conference. The presser was in place to discuss the government's Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum. Moreover, O'Neal felt that he believed in the cause and wanted to offer his support.' The Prime Minister was quoted as saying, '[Shaq] knows that we are a warm and generous people, and he wanted to inform himself about what this debate was about by engaging directly with the Minister for Indigenous Affairs and myself as the Prime Minister.'
The Australian government has already begun to act to encourage Indigenous Australians to find support from the international Indigenous movement. The Australian Government is committing $150,000 to the Indigenous Peoples' Organisation to provide more avenues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives to reach the international stage. The Indigenous Peoples' Organisation brings together more than 300 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak organisations, community organisations and individual members to promote and advocate for First Nations' rights and participation at the United Nations.
The Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has stated, 'Supporting First Nations people to engage internationally is vital for our people to be heard and recognised."
This funding will help share Australia's experience, by amplifying the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and increase the potential to influence UN committee decision-making.'
3. Indigenous Australians have a long history of collaboration with African Americans
Those who support using former NBA champion Shaq O'Neal's high profile to promote the Indigenous Voice to Parliament argue that Indigenous Australians have a long history of positive associations with African Americans.
Several Australian commentators and academics have noted the shared experiences of exploitation, racism and discrimination shared by Indigenous Australians and African Americans. Hannah McGlade, from the Kurin Minang people, is an associate professor at Curtin law school and a member of the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues. Professor McGlade has stated, 'Why should we be offended by any African-American people supporting our cause? Their history includes slavery, not unlike ours where people were indentured and forced to work on pastoral stations and in the homes of whites even as child servants. African-Americans were taken from their homeland of Africa and to this day are denied reparations, though they continue to fight for justice and racial equality.'
African American popular music, influenced by the experience of slavery, is claimed to have had a significant impact on Indigenous Australians and the music they produce. An article published by ABC News on July 21, 2018, discusses the effect of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The Fisk Jubilee Singers were a choir from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee - one of the newly formed black colleges and universities established to educate freed slaves. They toured Australia in the 1880s and visited Maloga Aboriginal Mission Station. Frederick J. Loudin, the group's choirmaster at the time and their first African American manager noted, 'The music of the plantations stirred their souls as no other music could have done, and they seemed to recognise us as brethren from a far distant tribe.' Musicologists have argued that black American music has had an ongoing impact on the development of modern popular Indigenous music and its use as a protest.
The United States civil rights movement of the 1960s had a major impact on the struggle for Indigenous rights in Australia. A primary example of this is the Freedom Ride conducted in rural New South Wales. A group of students from the University of Sydney, inspired by the United States 1961 Freedom Rides, got on a bus on 12 February 1965 and toured through regional towns such as Walgett, Gulargambone, Kempsey, Bowraville and Moree to show wider Australia the experience of Aboriginal Australians. These students - who were known as the Student Action for Aborigines (SAFA) and led by Arrernte man Charles Perkins from Alice Springs - recorded acts of racism against Aboriginal people and broadcast them to media around the country.
The primary organiser of the Australian Freedom Ride, Charles Perkins, subsequently acknowledged the important influence of the United States Freedom Rides on the young Australian students who took action. Perkins has stated, 'It was also a reaction to what was being done in America at that time. A number of students gathered together at Sydney University and thought that they might like to see a Freedom Ride eventuate here in Australia.'
Professor Hannah McGlade has further noted, 'Aboriginal people also were influenced by the Black Power movement, shown in the documentary Black Panther Woman told by Marlene Cummins, which included her brave disclosure of sexual assault. Noticeably, the Greens senators have adopted symbolism from the Panthers with their hand fists and chest salutes in the Senate seemingly for impact. And we have a proud history of solidarity with Native Americans and aboriginal people from Canada whose treaty rights were violated and whose children were stolen in a similar history to our own genocidal past.'
It has been argued that contemporary African American protest movements, such as Black Lives Matter, have also influenced the Indigenous protest movement in Australia. An article published by the United Nations Association of Australia on November 3, 2021, titled 'Why does the BLM movement matter in Australia?' opens with the observation, 'The Black Lives Matter movement has raised important questions about the prevalence and pervasiveness of racism in the criminal justice system. Its message found resonance around the world, with populations in countries including Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and Australia identifying with the same issues presented by the United States supporters of the BLM movement - they argue that criminal justice systems in their respective states display systemic bias in police response.'
4. O'Neal has been involved in numerous community service programs in the United States and has supported black causes
Those who support Shaquille O'Neal acting as a spokesperson for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament argue that the former NBA player has a history of supporting those who suffer from discrimination or who are otherwise disadvantaged. Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has praised O'Neal for his work 'in the United States about social justice and lifting people up who are marginalized.'
O'Neal's contribution to several causes has been noted.In October 2011, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), America's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, revealed a new public service announcement (PSA) featuring NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal speaking out against anti-LGBT bullying. As part of the announcement, O'Neal stated, 'Millions of gay and transgender youth are made to feel like they don't fit in every day.'
Volunteer Match (a U.S.-based nonprofit organisation which provides a national digital database of volunteers and nonprofit organisations) has outlined the work done by the Shaquille O'Neal Foundation. Volunteer Match's website states, 'The Shaquille O'Neal Foundation was established in 2019 by one of the most dominant basketball players in NBA history, Shaquille O'Neal. Shaquille has always been a philanthropist and advocate for underserved youth and has teamed with Communities in Schools and Boys and Girls Clubs to give these children a brighter future.
One of the Foundation's largest projects to date is the refurbishment of a Boys & Girls Club just outside of Atlanta, scheduled to open this fall. We're also working on resurfacing outdoor basketball courts in Las Vegas and other communities.'
In September 2020, O'Neal announced his Foundation's involvement with a campaign to support black businesses recover from the impact of COVID. O'Neal stated, 'Small businesses need our support now more than ever. Black businesses have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic... Not only are we giving money, but we give mentorship to help get their businesses to the next level.' The Coalition to Back Black Businesses launched with a $10 million commitment to fund a grant program over the next four years.
On April 16, 2021, Forbes Magazine published a report on some of the activities of the Shaquille O'Neal Foundation. The article stated, 'O'Neal will...continue to partner with local organizations including Boys & Girls Clubs and Communities in Schools. With the latter, it teamed up on Shaq-To-School, an initiative that has donated $10 million worth of school supplies across the country.
Last year, the Foundation collaborated with Icy Hot to commit $320,000 in grants to Title 1 high schools whose sports programs were impacted by Covid-19.'
O'Neal is also known for his personal philanthropy. For two decades O'Neal has been donating Christmas presents to children in difficult circumstances. December 2021 was the 20th annual Shaq-a-Claus which took place at West Lake Elementary School in Henry County. More than 500 school students in the Atlanta area received a gift from NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal .O'Neal attributes the idea to begin Shaq-a-Claus to his mother.
O'Neal has stated, '[My family] didn't have a lot, but they taught me the value of giving back to those in need...15 to 20 million kids wake up on Christmas Day and not receive one gift. I felt that one time. I don't ever want a kid to feel like that.' 5. Critics of Shaquille O'Neal's involvement are often using this secondary issue to create opposition to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament
It has been claimed that many of those who have expressed opposition to O'Neal's involvement with the Indigenous Voice to Parliament are against the proposal itself and are using opposition to O'Neal as a way of discrediting an Indigenous parliamentary Voice.
Hannah McGlade, from the Kurin Minang people, is an associate professor at Curtin law school and a member of the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues. Professor McGlade has stated that two prominent opponents of O'Neal's advocacy are really expressing their opposition to the Voice proposal, and anything associated with it.
Professor McGlade has stated, 'The outrage of senators Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Lidia Thorpe...to the Shaq endorsement reflects their own opposition to the voice and constitutional recognition of Indigenous rights.
They will make complaint and generate opposition about anything the government does to progress the historic constitutional referendum, which is a great shame because their fight is not only ideological and misplaced but also damaging to Indigenous people's rights to political voice and self-determination. That Aboriginal women from opposite sides of politics have become a driving force against progressive rights-based reform is especially saddening.'
There are numerous other commentators who in addition to opposing the involvement of Shaquille O'Neal are fundamentally opposed to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. On August 28, 2022, Sky News contributor James Macpherson expressed his opposition to the use of O'Neal as an advocate for the Voice, describing Prime Minister Albanese as 'starstruck' and unwilling to adequately debate the issue.
Some three weeks earlier, Macpherson had expressed his opposition to the Voice proposal itself. On August 5, 2022, as part of The Macpherson Report, Macpherson stated, 'I agree that disadvantage in Indigenous communities needs to be addressed. But creating an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice in the Constitution is not the way to do it...How about all Australians just be Australians? No discrimination and no race-based organisations - feeding off the government teat - whose sole purpose is to entrench division.' Similarly, columnist for The Australian, Janet Albrechtsen, expressed her disapproval of the use of Shaquille O'Neal to promote the Voice in an opinion piece published on August 31, 2022, stating, 'Albanese has bigger problems than looking like a dope for wasting time by wheeling out Shaquille O'Neal. The American former basketball player won't have a clue about our governance rule book, otherwise known as our Constitution.' However, the overall purpose of the article was to demonstrate that Albanese's proposals to incorporate an Indigenous Voice into the Constitution would undermine Australian democracy.
On September 21, 2022, Albrechtsen wrote another article, this time highlighting cracks in support for the Albanese plan and again concluding that the Voice is 'an overreaching proposal that would divide Australia and severely hamper our parliamentary democracy.' Instances such as these have been used to suggest that O'Neal was never the central issue. Opposing his involvement was merely an additional stick with which to beat the Indigenous Voice proposition.