Shaquille O’Neal surprises Pittsburgh wrestler Tamara Humphries with a 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander after her transportation struggles

NBA icon Shaquille O'Neal recently grabbed attention by giving an 18-year-old wrestler named Tamara Humphries from Pittsburgh a shiny new 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander. This young athlete had been struggling to make it to her wrestling practices and tournaments because she didn't have dependable transportation.

She took to social media to express her heartfelt thanks, which led to a wave of admiration for O'Neal's generous gesture.

Shaquille O’Neal notices Tamara Humphries journey through social media

The big change happened out of the blue thanks to social media. O'Neal, famous for his vibrant personality and spontaneous good deeds, stumbled upon Humphries' story through her online updates about her wrestling path and challenges.https://www.instagram.com/p/DOHOWmOEezm/"Tamara has quite a social media following, and she got the attention of Shaquille O'Neal," explained CBS Pittsburgh in their report.

One day, Humphries checked her messages and found a direct message (DM) from the NBA icon himself. "He DM'ed me on Instagram. It was a casual DM, and I was like, 'Uh, is this real?'" she recounted to Guidotti with a laugh.O'Neal's message expressed his admiration and offered help in any way he could. To confirm it was legitimate, he followed up by FaceTiming her family. "He FaceTimed my parents," Humphries shared. Her father, DeAndre, was equally stunned: "She said, 'Shaq's going to call you.

I gave him your number.' I was like, 'What?'" he told the CBS reporter.This personal touch made O'Neal choose to give her a car to solve her transportation issues. The selection of a 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander—an SUV recognized for its dependability and usefulness—felt just right for her as a busy student-athlete.

The daily grind of commuting challenges for Tamara Humphries at University of Pittsburgh

Tamara Humphries aka "The Firefly," is an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (UPJ).

Coming from Pittsburgh, she has rapidly made a name for herself as one of the most talented female collegiate wrestlers to come out of the region in recent years.As Humphries made the shift to college life, a significant obstacle popped up: she needed reliable transportation. Residing in Pittsburgh and attending UPJ, she had to commute between her home, classes, practices, and tournaments. The problem was, she had never owned a car.

“I've never had a car, ever," she candidly admitted to CBS Pittsburgh's Guidotti.To tackle this, Humphries put in a lot of hard work over the summer at Palm Palm, a neighborhood eatery in East Liberty, Pittsburgh, saving up to purchase her first car. Even with all her efforts, the absence of transportation had already impacted her life.In her Instagram post where she shared the gift, she talked about the struggles, "After struggling to get to practice, not making tournaments due to the lack of transportation, and spending a fortune on rides to and from training," she wrote.Also Read: Michael Jordan paid his brothers to do his chores and made his way to legend statusThis gift to Humphries is not the only example of how generous Shaquille O'Neal can be as he is considered to be one of the most generous sportsmen. The four time NBA champion, hall of fame and successful business person, through restaurants, investments and endorsements, has always emphasized the need to give back.