According to a cryptic post to the Facebook page of the Pittsfield Police Department, one of the most popular and recognizable basketball players to ever play in the NBA was in Pittsfield yesterday.

According to the post, Shaquille O’Neal made a brief stop at a summer camp in Pittsfield on Friday.  WCVB-TV reported that the big guy (all 7’ 1”) surprised kids on their last day of an unnamed summer camp in Pittsfield.  The report said that Shaq made the brief stop at the request of the organizer of the camp.

Video of Shaq was originally posted to the Pittsfield Police Department Facebook page but has since been taken down.  The video showed Shaq getting out of a large black SUV and walking onto an outdoor basketball court surrounded by excited kids.  According to the PPD post the video was taken down due to “content issues.”

The PPD post did not go into detail but this poster is guessing (I’m not a real reporter so I can do that) once word got out Shaq was in town there was worry that outsiders would flock to the camp to catch a glimpse.  PPD posted “Please do not go looking for him. He was here for only a few minutes to surprise someone. Trespassers will be prosecuted.”

No word if Shaq stopped by Papa John's in Lennox while he was in the area.  Shaq is the new pitchman for the chain.  He owns a number of franchises and sits on the company's Board of Directors.  Of course Shaq is best known for his great NBA career with the LA Lakers.  Shaq ended his NBA career in a Celtics uniform in 2010.

The complete post by the Pittsfield Police Department is below…

Pittsfield Police Department updated their status.

Thanks for stopping by, Shaquille O' Neal !

Update: The video has been taken down due to content issues. Shaq is NO LONGER in Pittsfield. Please do not go looking for him. He was here for only a few minutes to surprise someone. Trespassers will be prosecuted. Oh yeah, it's Friday, which means a long weekend eating burger king for our guests at our B&B

 

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