For the first time since the death of his cousin, 32-year-old Nykea Aldridge, Bulls guard Dwyane Wade spoke publicly on the incident.
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Nykea Aldridge, the cousin of Dwyane Wade, was tragically shot and killed while pushing one of her children in a stroller back on Aug. 27.
Wade, an active Twitter user, sent out a few tweets about his cousin’s death and the senseless violence that continues to dominate the Chicago streets. He hadn’t truly spoken publicly about his cousin’s murder until an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.
Along with speaking about his cousin’s death, Wade talked about the controversial tweeting of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. After the news of Aldridge’s death hit the airwaves, Trump (and one would assume his team) took to Twitter to make an even bigger mockery of his campaign with this tweet.
Dwyane Wade's cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2016
(This tweet was actually the second attempt at making himself look like a complete fool. He spelled Wade’s name “Dwayne Wade” in the first installment of this tweet.)
Wade spoke on the impact of Trump’s tweeting with Stephanopoulos with a rather surprising, yet solid response.
"“I was grateful that it started a conversation but on the other hand, it just left 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 as political gain,” Wade said."
This is 100 percent correct. Trump and his team clearly are pushing their presidential campaign, but it did bring more eyes to what’s going on Chicago and what has been going on in Chicago streets for many years; violence, death, struggle, pain.
Wade also mentioned that his cousin’s death became a “national story” (because of his stature and career in the NBA) and that it’ll bring more attention to Chicago’s struggles.
"“I was kind of conflicted,” Wade told Stephanopoulos in the interview. “You know, it’s like, on 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 for me. I want eyes on this city. I want us to be able to do more together. And the only way we can do more together is if more people know what’s going on.”"
Once again, Wade is absolutely correct. Society cannot contribute to making Chicago a safer place if they’re not aware to what’s really taking place. Chicago’s a wonderful city and one of the best in the entire world.
But, the struggles are real. The deaths are real. The violence is real. And it needs to stop.
"“I’ve always believed that Chicago never got enough – not attention, but attention in the world for-for all the bad,” Wade said. “You know, we-no one ever came and said ‘Okay, let’s go to Chicago. Let’s do what we can to stop this violence in Chicago. And now I think the conversation now has to be had.”"
In a sick and twisted fashion, Donald Trump stumbled his way into the most minuscule contribution he’ll ever have in his lifetime.
(But no, African-Americans are still not going to vote for you, Donald.)