Shaq says he’ll pay for funeral of Louisville signee
Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal is stepping up to help the family of Dexter Rentz Jr., the Louisville football signee who was killed in a shooting over the weekend in his hometown of Orlando, Florida.
O’Neal, who played for the Orlando Magic for four years in the 1990s and now lives in the Florida city, told ESPN he’d reached out to Rentz’s family and plans to pay for all funeral expenses, including a casket and a horse and carriage.
“This one hurts my heart. It really does,” O’Neal said this week in an interview with ESPN. “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.”
Rentz was killed late Saturday night in a drive-by shooting following a funeral, family members told the Orlando Sentinel.
Three other people who were shot lived, though one was still in critical condition at the end of the weekend. No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting, which family members believe was intended to target someone other than Rentz.
According to the report, Rentz Jr., was leaving his grandfather’s house in a car when was shot and fell into the street. His younger brother, Derrick, ran around the car to help him.
“Derrick pulled him back in the car, and they called the paramedics and once the paramedics took too long, that’s when they tried to drive him to the hospital,” Rentz’s mother, Salisa “Missy” Rentz Sinclair, told the Orlando Sentinel.
O’Neal, who lost a sister to cancer last October and has said he was shaken by the death of former teammate Kobe Bryant in January, told ESPN he felt obligated to help.
“He was on his way, he really was,” he said of Rentz. “I don’t know what it feels like to lose a son, but I know what it feels like to lose someone.”
Louisville athletics director Vince Tyra, who had gotten to know Rentz during his recruitment process, thanked O’Neal on Twitter on Tuesday.
“Very nice gesture for a terrific young man,” Tyra’s post said in part. “Still struggling with the fact we won’t get to see his smile on campus this fall.”
Rentz would have played wide receiver for the Cardinals. Louisville coaches and athletes have flooded social media in the days since the shooting with condolences toward the family.
Mekhi Becton, a former U of L lineman taken in the first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft, said he planned to dedicate his rookie season to Rentz.