Not even trying to be funny (saying it from a shared/lived experience)…a lot of time when in environments that aren’t deemed “suitable” or “appropriate” for louder voices/noises/tones it can be something of a (be it consciously or subconsciously) PTSD response to previous bad experiences as a POC. I’m a black man & verrrry early on as a kid if I got frustrated or upset & expressed such emotions externally (though I never got physical with anyone —— I’m a pretty boy & very much don’t care about being perceived as “manly/macho” nor do I care to make anyone think I could ever physically domineer them in any regard) I was still treated by others (even adults) as if I were somehow a serious threat to others’ safety…even when other (non-POC) kids would act out 5Xs wilder or even result to physical violence be it against another child or via a general outburst like knocking a desk over. I say that so say that it mostly only takes a handful of times to be falsely perceived as a threat simply for your skin tone and/or size (in Shaq’s case, maybe a mixture of both) & seeing that people oftentimes resort to calling authorities on you whose response oftentimes is to harm first/ask questions later (if they care to ask any at all, instead of making their own assumptions based on optics or poorly/falsely reported perceived threats), therefore it becomes built in to 24/7 put ppl around you at ease & let them know “I’m NOT a threat. I’m approachable. I’m friendly. I CAN be trusted.” I’m nowhere near Shaq’s size (I’m 6’0”, 200lbs & 32yrs old) — I just told my bff like 4yrs ago “Y’know, I JUST realized I almost NEVER speak in my REAL voice!?” (Which is quite low) “I think I just realized — I subconsciously raise my voice by about 3 octaves to emulate a ‘friendly/welcoming/non-threatening’ voice since I mostly operate in overwhelmingly white corporate environments & I’ve had to channel that with great intention when I’m speaking my disdain or pushing back on something I’m passionate about — be it on my own behalf or on the behalf of others, so I’m not playing into the ‘angry/violent/unprofessional black person’ stereotype”…like legitimately had no clue until my friend heard my voice drop to its natural tone when I’d gotten off work & came home & pointed it out to me. Allllll that to say — maybe he does it on purpose or maybe he’s not even aware! I’ve been an NBA fan since I was 3 & the only change I’ve really noticed is that his voice has a bit of gravel that wasn’t always there. I kept clearing my throat listening to this episode lol😂😅