(ABC)
Dwyane Wade gave his first interview about his cousin’s murder for Friday’s “GMA.” Watch below.
As Gossip Cop reported, Wade’s cousin Nykea Aldridge was killed last week when she was caught in the crossfire of two men firing guns on the streets of Chicago. “It was very tough. The headlines alone — ‘Mother walking down the street registering her kids for school, a mother of four is murdered’ — it’s touch to deal with,” said the NBA superstar. “It was one of those moments for our family, like, this is not real.”
The night before the tragedy, Wade, who is returning to play for his hometown Chicago Bulls, had participated in a town hall forum on gun violence. He reflected to George Stephanopoulos, “We’re using our voice, using our platform, to shed some light on the city of Chicago, and then hours later, one of my family members was killed.” Now the athlete is more committed than ever to community reform.
Wade said one key to stopping “this epidemic” is youth mentorship, and admitted his own kids are afraid of the police. “Not all police, obviously,” he clarified, adding, “They (cops) can do a lot better, but they can get more help… We have to do a better job of being leaders.”
Stephanopoulos, of course, also brought up the controversial tweet from Donald Trump on Aldridge’s murder, which seemed to be about drumming up votes for the presidential candidate. Asked how he felt when he found out about the message, Wade confessed, “Well, I was kind of conflicted. It’s like, on the one hand, your cousin’s death is used as a ploy for political gain. On the other hand, it’s a national story. It goes back to that.”
“I want eyes on the city. I want us to be able to do more together. The only way we can do more together is more people know what’s going on. So I was grateful it started a conversation,” Wade continued. “But on the other hand, it’s a bad taste in my mouth because of what my family is dealing with, and what our city of Chicago is dealing with, and it looks like it’s being used for political gain.”
Wade also addressed the topic of forgiveness, and went on to say, “I think my purpose now is bigger than basketball.” Check out the full interview below.
