Shaquille O’Neal is a man of his word.
The NBA legend finally made good on his promise to eat a frog if TCU lost to UGA in the national championship.
O’Neal initially made the bet with his NBA On TNT co-host Ernie Johnson last week, pledging to eat a frog if the Bulldogs beat the Horned Frogs in Monday night’s showdown. UGA’s 65-7 walloping of TCU meant that O’Neal would be chowing down on amphibian.
After a failed attempt at substituting chicken for frog on Tuesday’s episode, O’Neal dug into a battered and fried frog presented to him on a silver platter by Johnson (a proud UGA alum) on live television Thursday.
“I’m a man of my word,” O’Neal said between bites. “I’m a man of my word, Ernie.”
Unbeknownst to O’Neal, his initial pledge to eat a horned frog was infeasible from the start. Not only are horned frogs actually lizards, they’re listed as a threatened species, meaning it’s illegal to catch them, keep them, sell them, or breed them without a permit.
Fortunately for everyone, Johnson was more than happy to substitute an actual frog when the time came.
