“I played 13 years in Miami”.
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While Trump of course politicized the massacre in Orlando, he also seems to continue to pull for additional deaths, especially by ISIS, and even better when they involve dead Americans, so that he can use these deaths to say just how very bad things are today in the U.S. Only in the past week, after hearing about the death of Nykea Aldridge, the cousin of National Basketball Association star Dwyane Wade, Trump couldn’t get to his Twitter account fast enough to tweet out: “Dwyane Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago”.
Wade also talked about how the nationwide violence, which has included police-related shootings of African-Americans, has affected his sons, ages 14, 9 and 2.
Spike Lee condemned Trump for the post and accused him of trying to “capitalise” on the situation.
“I was kind of conflicted”, he said.
“My objective for being back in the city is bigger than basketball – basketball is a big part of it of course, it’s what I do for a living”, Wade said.
Wade, a vocal advocate against gun violence, said of his hometown that he wanted “eyes on the city”. “But I think my goal at the end of the day hopefully is to come to Chicago and be a part, be a voice that can help bring people together”. “And the only way we can do more together is if more people know what’s going on”.
“You try to tell them right from wrong, but then they come back to you and say ‘But dad, kids are being killed by police officers, I thought you said police officers are safe, that’s where we should feel comfortable, ‘” Wade said. “And it looks like it’s being used as a political gain”.
This personal loss will intensify Wade’s desire to prevent these tragedies and he can certainly count on the support of many of his peers in doing so.
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The incident comes over a month after Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul delivered a powerful speech at the 2016 ESPY Awards calling for athletes to do more and use their influence to help stop gun crimes in the country and create change.
