Just days after meeting with the family of a victim of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade on Wednesday visited the school in Parkland, Florida.
Tweets surfaced of the visit.
Wade is in his second stint with the Heat after he was traded earlier this season from the Cavaliers. When he learned that Joaquin Oliver, one of 17 people killed in the shooting, was buried in a Wade Heat jersey, the NBA star dedicated the rest of the season to the teen.
“This is why we will not just SHUT up and dribble!” Wade said in a tweet on February 26, adding in another: “It’s way BIGGER than basketball. We are the voices for the people that don’t get to be heard.”
The day after Wade made that dedication, he hit a game-winning jumper to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 102-101 in Miami. The night Wade hit the shot, he wore shoes with Oliver’s name written on them.
Wade met Saturday with Oliver’s family, hosting them at Miami’s game against the Detroit Pistons. Wade gave the family a jersey and custom sneakers with Oliver’s name and the Stoneman Douglas High School logo on them.
During the National Anthem, Wade stood with Oliver’s sister.
“I’m thankful they came to the game,” Wade told the Sun Sentinel newspaper. “I’m thankful I got a chance just to talk to them and tell them my appreciation and also to let them know we will continue to use our voice, continue to shine the light on what they’re talking about and what they’re going through and what they’re dealing with. Because it’s not just happening to them. It’s happening to all of us, and it could be any one of us.”
