Tim Brown of the Los Angeles Times reports that Shaquille O?Neal is misunderstood. After receiving criticism for his comments about Yao Ming, O?Neal issued an apology yesterday.

More than six months ago, O?Neal taunted Ming in front of a cable television crew. He looked into the camera and said, "Tell Yao Ming, 'Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh,' " apparently mocking the Chinese language.

A weekly Asian publication called O?Neal out with the headline "Shaq is a Racist". The column in Asian Week had become a popular subject for radio call-in shows. When O?Neal arrived at Staples Center for Friday?s game against the Cavaliers, he was well aware of the controversy.

"If I offended anybody," O'Neal said, "I apologize. "To say I'm a racist against Asians is crazy," O'Neal said. "It's probably [someone] just trying to start trouble. I said a joke. It was a 70-30 joke. Seventy percent of people thought it was funny, 30 didn't. At times I try to be a comedian. Sometimes I say good jokes, sometimes I say bad jokes. If I hurt anybody's feelings, I apologize."

Perhaps O?Neal himself said it best when he called himself an "idiot prankster".