One of the most difficult interviews of Dwyane Wade’s career had nothing to do with basketball.
The Heat guard admitted he was almost lost for words when he learned Joaquin Oliver, one of the 17 students killed in the shootings at Stoneman Douglas High School two weeks ago, was buried Feb. 17 in Wade’s No. 3 Heat jersey. The 17-year-old Oliver became a fan of Wade’s after his family moved to Florida from Venezuela when he was 3.
“You really can’t put that in words,” Wade told reporters after practice Monday, a day after Oliver’s parents shared their son’s connection to Wade on a Univision talk show. “You hurt for the family and if you’re able to get an opportunity to speak to them, you just try to hope that the time where he was alive, that you were able to bring some form of joy to his life and something memorable, a story that you guys can talk about.
“I don’t even know the word for it. Like I retweeted on Twitter, I said, ‘You’re going to make me cry.’ It’s emotional even thinking about that, that his parents felt that burying him in my jersey is something that he wanted. I take a lot of pride in what I’ve done in this state and what I’ve meant for the youth, so I appreciate that.”
Wade was traded back to Miami at the NBA trade deadline Feb. 8 after starting the season with his former Heat teammate, LeBron James, in Cleveland. Wade, who won three NBA championships over 13 seasons with the Heat from 2003 to 2016, was six days into his encore when Oliver and 16 other students at the Parkland high school were gunned down in the Valentine’s Day tragedy.
In a tribute to Oliver on Twitter later Monday, Wade intensified his promise to continue to speak up in the face of people telling him and other athletes to stick to sports. The 36-year-old referenced Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s take on James’ public criticisms of President Trump when she said on her show Feb. 15 that James should keep his political opinions to himself and just “shut up and dribble.”
“Joaquin was one of many that I heard was excited about my return to Miami and yesterday was buried in my jersey,” Wade wrote in a post attached to a photo of Oliver on the news. “This is why we will not just SHUT up and dribble!”
Wade has reiterated the argument that dominated the national discourse last week, calling for stricter gun laws following one of the deadliest massacres in modern United States history. Speaking to the crowd at American Airlines Arena before the Heat’s victory over the Grizzlies on Saturday night, Wade looked on as players from both teams held a Stoneman Douglas banner and said one of their goals was to “make sure that [the students’] voices are heard around gun safety.”
Wade expanded on his message in a second Twitter post, adding he would do his part in keeping Oliver’s memory alive this season.
“It’s way BIGGER than basketball,” he wrote. “We are the voices for the people that don’t get to be heard. Joaquin Oliver may you Rest In Peace and I dedicate my return and the rest of this Miami Heat season to you.”