September 12, 2005 Issue 127
	Shaquille O'Neal Revealed To Be Perfectly Healthy, Faking Injury So He Can Stand In Line For "Star Wars" Originally posted 5/23/2005 Shaquille O'Neal (in Chewbacca outfit) poses with some of his fellow "Star Wars" fans MIAMI - Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal, who sat out the last two games of his team's second- round playoff sweep of the Washington Wizards with what was reported to be a thigh bruise, was revealed to be faking his injury so that he would be free to stand in line for the movie "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith." "I heard that Chewie would be in this one," said O'Neal, who, prior to this week, hadn't played since the Heat's 108-102 win over Washington on May 10. "And I couldn't wait until after the season to see what happened to Anakin, I just couldn't!" "Normally, if a guy skipped practices and games without permission, we'd fine him and suspend him," said Heat coach Stan Van Gundy. "But Shaq can pretty much do whatever he wants. What are we going to do, say, 'Sorry, Shaq, you can't play in the Eastern Conference Finals?'" O'Neal's ruse was discovered late Tuesday night, when a reporter doing a story on the lineup of "Star Wars" fans outside of L.A.'s Grauman's Chinese Theatre recognized the three-time NBA champion. "I saw this huge dude in a Chewbacca outfit," said David Friedlander of L.A. Weekly. "He looked sort of familiar, and I was like, 'Shaq, is that you?' And he goes, 'Shh, don't tell anybody, dude. I'm not supposed to be here.' It was too big of a story, though. I had to break it." "I don't blame that guy," O'Neal said of Friedlander. "He's just doing his job. I almost got away with it, though. I was in that line for over a week and nobody recognized me, because it was all just a bunch of 'Star Wars' geeks who didn't know anything about sports. I think they were more surprised to see a black guy in line with them than a former NBA MVP, to be honest with you."
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