Rob is the Editor-in-Chief of Offside, the sports brand for ZoomerMedia.

&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t me.&#8221;
That&#8217;s the title of a hit song in 2000 by Shaggy, and it was also seemingly Shaquille O&#8217;Neal&#8217;s explanation after being spotted in Sherwood Park.
<a href="https://dailyhive.com/edmonton/shaq-surprise-visit-edmonton" target="_blank">A photo of Shaq at a Sherwood Park hookah lounge</a> surfaced on social media on Tuesday, one day ahead of unveiling his new partnership with The Brick.
&#8220;I must inform all the people who saw me out last night that was not me, that was an AI clone,&#8221; Shaq joked in a <a href="https://calgary.citynews.ca/2026/03/11/nba-shaquille-oneal-oilers-edmonton/" target="_blank">television interview with CityNews</a>. &#8220;You know how there&#8217;s Jack Hyman and Shaq Hyman? You people in Sherwood Park, that wasn&#8217;t really me. You&#8217;ve been fooled.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Shaq is currently at a hookah lounge in Sherwood Park 😭 <a href="https://t.co/CHZ0LjbTWg">pic.twitter.com/CHZ0LjbTWg</a>
&mdash; YEGWAVE (@yegwave) <a href="https://twitter.com/yegwave/status/2031630087473475807?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Yes, he called him &#8220;Jack&#8221; Hyman, but Shaq maintains he&#8217;s still a fan of the Edmonton Oilers winger.
While this was a business trip for the 7-foot-1 basketball legend, his love for Canada is well-documented.
<a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/shaq-oneal-loves-canada" target="_blank">Shaq couldn&#8217;t say enough good things about our country</a> during a visit to Vancouver in 2018.
&#8220;Love the people. Love your national anthem,&#8221; he said at the time. &#8220;People here have always been very hospitable and nice. We can learn a lot from the Canadian culture.&#8221;
&#8220;You guys are just polite. I don’t see guys having the same problems we have down there. You guys got free health care.&#8221;
That love shone through during his Edmonton visit also.
&#8220;Everyone in Canada knows Shaq loves Canada,&#8221; Shaq said, before singing a line from our national anthem: &#8220;O Canada, I stand on guard for thee.&#8221;
&#8220;I’ve been to Toronto, been to Vancouver, I’ve been to Calgary. I love Canada. Winter, spring, summer, fall. If you need me in Canada, Shaq will be there.&#8221;
<ul class="article-see-also">You might also like:<li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/edmonton/shaq-surprise-visit-edmonton' target='_blank'>Shaquille O&#039;Neal makes surprise visit to Edmonton</a></li></ul>

Edmonton

A photo of Shaquille O'Neal at a hookah lounge in Sherwood Park surfaced on social media, and he gave a hilarious reason why it wasn't him.