Shaq donates a year’s rent to a paralyzed Atlanta boy
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 24: Shaquille O'Neal attends the 2019 NBA Awards at Barker Hangar on June 24, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has donated a year’s rent in a new home to an Atlanta woman whose 12-year-old son was paralyzed in a shooting at a football game.
O’Neal tells WXIA-TV that Isaiah Payton’s family had been living in a one-bedroom apartment that wasn’t accessible for people with disabilities. Now they have a home in a good neighborhood.
He says he’s helping furnish the home and will pay its rent for the next year.
Isaiah was shot through the spine in August after a football scrimmage between two high schools.
Sixteen-year-old Damean Spear also was wounded and treated for minor injuries. Isaiah’s mother, Allison Woods, has said relearning how to care for Isaiah meant she had to leave her job, adding financial stress to her emotional turmoil.