Hey Shaq, how does being a civilian taste?

Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal may have been asking former teammate Kobe Bryant to "tell me how my ass tastes," but his freestyle rap at a club in New York has his fans, the media and the Maricopa County police asking a bunch of other questions.

Once such question: Hey Shaq, how does being a civilian taste?

Following the publicity given to Shaq's freestyle, the head sheriff of Maricopa County is asking the future Hall of Fame center for his badges back. And no, he's not doing it because of Shaq's lack of talent on the mic but rather the racially derogatory language he used while doing so.

"I want his two badges back," Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Because if any one of my deputies did something like this, they're fired. I don't condone this type of racial conduct."

You see, Shaq has a love of law enforcement. In Maricopa County he was a special deputy then promoted to a colonel. It is no suprise, though, that the Miami Beach Police are keeping him as a member of their team.

I really don't mind the freestyling, the shots at Bryant or much else of what O'Neal said. Watch the whole freestyle. Well, except for two lines:

That's like Patrick Ewing having more rings than me

AND

Kobe, can't do without me

I can't stand up for anyone taking shots at Ewing, my favorite player. Not to mention if Ewing and the New York Knicks had a Bryant and didn't have to play every Conference Finals against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, he'd have a few rings of his own. He was a victim of circumstance.

Bryant may not have won a ring without Shaq, yet, but he will. Shaq was carried to his last title on the back of Dwayne Wade, and odds are he'll never win one again. His future is as an entertainer not a basketball player.

He used to be able to tell us how the glass tastes. Now he'll just be telling us how his gas tastes.