Dwyane Wade speaks on the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery

Former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade continues the organization's support of fighting social injustice

Former Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade took his time before commenting.

It took him a couple days before addressing the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot after being chased by two men while jogging in Georgia two months ago. Arbery, who is black, was killed by a white father and son tandem after a struggle in the middle of a street. Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael thought Arbery was responsible for a string of robberies in the neighborhood but he was unarmed.

“I’ve been trying to find the right words to say to my kids,” Wade said in an Instagram post. “I want to tell my kids over and over and over again that just by the color of your skin, just because you were born African-American, that you are deemed a threat — at all times. No matter what you’re doing, no matter where you’re at, no matter what your family has, you’re deemed a threat.”

Wade is no stranger to making his stance known on social justice issues. He participated in the Heat's support of Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner, who were both killed in similar situations. Wade posed for a team photo with all the players donning hoodies after Martin was shot by George Zimmerman in 2012. In 2014, Wade wore an "I Can't Breath" T-shirt during pregame warmups after Garner died following an altercation with New York City police.

The Arbery case made national news last week because no arrests were made until weeks after the incident and has since sparked protests. Arbery would have turned 26 Friday. 

“I don’t believe in the celebration of justice until justice has been served,” Wade said. “We watched Trayvon Martin’s killer go to court and be let free. So on this day, we keep fighting. We keep fighting for Ahmaud. Happy birthday, brother.”

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here