--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tell them it was a foul." description: "\"Tell them it was a foul.\" — Shaquille O'Neal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/shaquille-o-neal-659_foul_tell-them-it-was-a-foul-1450709_1450709.jpg" --- # Tell them it was a foul. ![“Tell them it was a foul.” quote by Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/shaquille-o-neal-659_foul_tell-them-it-was-a-foul-1450709_1450709.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/shaquille-o-neal-659_foul_tell-them-it-was-a-foul-1450709_1450709.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/shaquille-o-neal-659_foul_tell-them-it-was-a-foul-1450709_1450709.jpg) > “Tell them it was a foul.” [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests calling a foul when an opponent breaks the rules. **In simple terms:** Call a foul when rules are broken. Key Takeaway Stand up for fairness in play. Themes fairness rules integrity competition assertiveness Mood assertive pragmatic Type sports ethical When to use this quote - basketball games - referee training - coach discussions - player meetings Key Concepts sportsmanship rule enforcement team dynamics Questions to Reflect On - When is it appropriate to call a foul? - How do you handle disputes on the field? A Different Perspective Calling fouls can cause conflict if misused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [NBA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nba/) ## Related quotes > [If something is nice about you, usually one or two people will tell you. If something is foul about you, everyone will tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-richman/if-something-is-nice-about-you-usually-one-or-two-people-will-tell/) [Adam Richman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-richman/) > [I got into foul trouble, so I really kind of had to play on egg shells from there on out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-got-into-foul-trouble-so-i-really-kind-of-had-to-play-on-egg-shells/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [A pinch is a pinch. If you pinch my right nipple, I'm going to say, 'ouch.' If I pinch your right nipple, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/a-pinch-is-a-pinch-if-you-pinch-my-right-nipple-i-m-going-to-say-ouch/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I'm the first player in history that doesn't want to play defense and still gets in foul trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-m-the-first-player-in-history-that-doesn-t-want-to-play-defense-and/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [You guys make the rules up, so a foul is a foul. It doesn't matter if a guy is bigger and stronger. It's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/you-guys-make-the-rules-up-so-a-foul-is-a-foul-it-doesn-t-matter-if-a/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [It gets bigger every time you go over. In China, there was Yao Ming stuff everywhere. I'm just fortunate to have a good-looking face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/it-gets-bigger-every-time-you-go-over-in-china-there-was-yao-ming/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Why aren't the Nets playing in Newark?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/why-aren-t-the-nets-playing-in-newark/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [There's two kinds of dirty - dirty and sewer-dirty. Danny Ferry is sewer-dirty and has been ever since he was at Duke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/there-s-two-kinds-of-dirty-dirty-and-sewer-dirty-danny-ferry-is-sewer/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [The NBA's been around how long? A hundred years? Fifty years? So to change it now, whoever that person is needs his college degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/the-nba-s-been-around-how-long-a-hundred-years-fifty-years-so-to/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Keep in mind, I'm not allowed to be tough. I'm tamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/keep-in-mind-i-m-not-allowed-to-be-tough-i-m-tamed/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I was really upset. I felt like they tried to limit me, whoever 'they' may be. So I just said to myself third quarter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-was-really-upset-i-felt-like-they-tried-to-limit-me-whoever-they/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [It's up to the referee to decide what is and isn't a foul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-chiellini/it-s-up-to-the-referee-to-decide-what-is-and-isn-t-a-foul/) [Giorgio Chiellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-chiellini/) > [You are pushed to behave differently here, you don't really have a choice. If you cheat you have no chance of being admired. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/you-are-pushed-to-behave-differently-here-you-don-t-really-have-a/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [Trouble is, we call politics a game, but it isn't one. There is no referee, and the teams make up the rules as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/trouble-is-we-call-politics-a-game-but-it-isn-t-one-there-is-no/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [The game's finest mistakes were perpetrated by Djimi Traore, who interrupted his general competence with one air shot, one slice over his own head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-cornwell/the-game-s-finest-mistakes-were-perpetrated-by-djimi-traore-who/) [Phil Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-cornwell/) ## More by Shaquille O'Neal > [ I failed, I think, seven \[or\] eight times before I finally got my first \[championship\]. It was just, you know, just about me growing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-failed-i-think-seven-or-eight-times-before-i-finally-got-my-first/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [And if the big dog ain't me, then the house won't get guarded - period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-if-the-big-dog-ain-t-me-then-the-house-won-t-get-guarded-period/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-i-want-to-do-it-the-right-way-like-everybody-else-not-just-a/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I don't send messages, I'm not a fax machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-don-t-send-messages-i-m-not-a-fax-machine/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I told our guys they must not have cable because Antoine Walker knows how to play, Derek Anderson can play, Shandon Anderson knows how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-told-our-guys-they-must-not-have-cable-because-antoine-walker-knows/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I was really upset. I felt like they tried to limit me, whoever 'they' may be. So I just said to myself third quarter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-was-really-upset-i-felt-like-they-tried-to-limit-me-whoever-they/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Keep in mind, I'm not allowed to be tough. I'm tamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/keep-in-mind-i-m-not-allowed-to-be-tough-i-m-tamed/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I'm still the baddest expletive in the world. Yeah, I'm getting older, but Kareem got older. Hakeem got older. I don't need Earthlings' respect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-m-still-the-baddest-expletive-in-the-world-yeah-i-m-getting-older/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Write this: Since my boy is the coach, I'm going to try out for the Dolphins next year. Tight end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/write-this-since-my-boy-is-the-coach-i-m-going-to-try-out-for-the/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Everybody talks about being a role model. But if you look up the word 'role' in a dictionary, it describes playing a part. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/everybody-talks-about-being-a-role-model-but-if-you-look-up-the-word/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Why don't you bring your face up here and let me punch it? Then you can tell me (if I'm stronger).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/why-don-t-you-bring-your-face-up-here-and-let-me-punch-it-then-you/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I'm known as The Big Baryshnikov.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-m-known-as-the-big-baryshnikov/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Enunciation, diction, all that stuff. None of that is in my personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/enunciation-diction-all-that-stuff-none-of-that-is-in-my-personality/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I told Leonard, in the immortal words of Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2, 'I'm going on vacation. If I tell you where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-told-leonard-in-the-immortal-words-of-tom-cruise-in-mission/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/stats-don-t-matter-i-care-about-winning-not-stats-if-i-score-0-points/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) [Explore all 422 Shaquille O'Neal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) ## More Foul quotes > [Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/ring-out-false-pride-in-place-and-blood-the-civic-slander-and-the/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [Come on, that was no foul! It may be a violation of all the basic rules of human decency, but its not a foul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walton/come-on-that-was-no-foul-it-may-be-a-violation-of-all-the-basic-rules/) [Bill Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walton/) > [It has always been cited as an irrepressible symptom of America's vitality that her people, in fair times and foul, believe in themselves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/it-has-always-been-cited-as-an-irrepressible-symptom-of-america-s/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [“How deep was the grim sorter of the dark and the foul going to send me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/how-deep-was-the-grim-sorter-of-the-dark-and-the-foul-going-to-send-me/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/gatsby-turned-out-all-right-at-the-end-it-is-what-preyed-on-gatsby/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Why should some foul word-slinging curb my ambitions?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronika-carnaby/why-should-some-foul-word-slinging-curb-my-ambitions/) [Veronika Carnaby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronika-carnaby/) > [The history of woman is the history of the continued and universal oppression of one sex by the other. The emancipation of woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-celeste-claflin/the-history-of-woman-is-the-history-of-the-continued-and-universal/) [Tennessee Celeste Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-celeste-claflin/) > [Ah fair Zenocrate, divine Zenocrate, Fair is too foul an epithet for thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/ah-fair-zenocrate-divine-zenocrate-fair-is-too-foul-an-epithet-for/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [It's foul what this money could do, cash corrupts the loyal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/it-s-foul-what-this-money-could-do-cash-corrupts-the-loyal/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It's very thin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-like-to-see-the-difference-between-good-and-evil-as-kind-of-like/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Men ought to know that from nothing else but the brain come joys, delights, laughter and sports, and sorrows, griefs, despondency, and lamentations. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/men-ought-to-know-that-from-nothing-else-but-the-brain-come-joys/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [“Oh, that’s heinous fuckery most foul,” said Kona.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/oh-that-s-heinous-fuckery-most-foul-said-kona/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [“Murder most foul, as in the best it is. But this most foul, strange and unnatural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/murder-most-foul-as-in-the-best-it-is-but-this-most-foul-strange-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Art thou angry with him whose armpits stink? Art thou angry with him whose mouth smells foul?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/art-thou-angry-with-him-whose-armpits-stink-art-thou-angry-with-him/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [All existing things are really one. We regard those that are beautiful and rare as valuable, and those that are ugly as foul and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/all-existing-things-are-really-one-we-regard-those-that-are-beautiful/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) Browse all 416 Foul quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Tell them it was a foul.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shaquille O'Neal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/tell-them-it-was-a-foul/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Foul" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/tell-them-it-was-a-foul/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/shaquille-o-neal-659_foul_tell-them-it-was-a-foul-1450709_1450709.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/shaquille-o-neal-659_foul_tell-them-it-was-a-foul-1450709_1450709.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/shaquille-o-neal-659_foul_tell-them-it-was-a-foul-1450709_1450709.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tell them it was a foul.” — Shaquille O'Neal", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Shaquille O'Neal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tell them it was a foul.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/tell-them-it-was-a-foul/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/tell-them-it-was-a-foul/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```