Inside The Heat

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James show support for Dave Chappelle

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James among the athletes to applaud comedian Dave Chappelle for his recent special that centered on social injustice issues

Shandel Richardson

Former Miami Heat players LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were among the many athletes and celebrities to show their respect for comedian Dave Chappelle over the weekend.

Chappelle released his new, hard-hitting special called "8:46" that dealt with various social injustice issues, including the death of George Floyd. Last month Floyd, who is black, died after being in custody of four Minneapolis officers. The name of the Chappelle special is in reference to the amount of time one of the officers held his knee on Floyd's neck during the arrest.

"This man kneeled on a man's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds," Chappelle said during the show. "Can you imagine that? This kid thought he was going to die, he knew he was going to die. He called for his dead mother."

Wade, who has expressed his support for Floyd and other recent victims, praised Chappelle for the special.

"Dave Chappelle THANK YOU!!!," Wade wrote on Twitter next to a goat emoji, a reference to greatest of all time.

For James, it was more personal. Chappelle dedicated a segment to James' ongoing feud with Fox News host Laura Ingrham. The two have clashed over their views of President Donald Trump. After James criticized Trump in 2018, Ingraham fired back, "shut up and dribble."

Chappelle said athletes such as James should be allowed to voice their opinions.

"Let me tell you something about LeBron," Chappelle said during the show. "(He) was on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was 17 years old and exceeded every expectation that they had for him. This business is treacherous. This is a good guy, LeBron. He's a family man and this, that and the other. He didn't let anyone down."

James posted a video of the special on his Instagram and thanked Chappelle for defending him.

"My friend, my brother!!!," James wrote. "Love you man!!"

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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

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