Last week, NBA superstar Kobe Bryant unintentionally ignited a firestorm of controversy with remarks he made to The New Yorker about the Miami Heat’s widely publicized “hoodie” photo in response to the Trayvon Martin case.
When asked about the picture Bryant reportedly said: “I won’t react to something just because I’m supposed to, because I’m an African-American.”
He added, “That argument doesn’t make any sense to me. So we want to advance as a society and a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American we immediately come to his defense? Yet you want to talk about how far we’ve progressed as a society? Well, we’ve progressed as a society, then don’t jump to somebody’s defense just because they’re African-American. You sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right? So I won’t assert myself.”
Bryant was widely criticized for missing the point of the Heat’s display and now Dwyane Wade is weighing in on the debate.
For Wade, the Trayvon Martin case was personal, because among other things it took place in Central Florida.
“It was our backyard, and being in our backyard, being something that a lot of guys on this team—not only growing up in the kind of environment that Trayvon was in—but also having young boys,” Wade told Bleacher Report. “Knowing that he is a big fan of the Miami Heat. That is something that we got behind. As a team. I can’t even say the organization. It was as a team. We got behind it. And it was more so that than the color of his skin.”
Click here to read more.