Canadians Upset After Dwyane Wade Takes Shots During National Anthem

The Toronto Raptors defeated the Miami Heat 95-91 in Game 3 on Saturday to take a 2-1 series lead.

Canadians Upset After Dwyane Wade Takes Shots During National Anthem

Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 38 points, although the three-time champion is now under fire after cameras showed him taking a few extra shots while a singer performed the Canadian national anthem, “O Canada,” in the middle of AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami before the start of the game.

Wade, 34, responded to the criticism on Sunday, defending himself and saying he meant no disrespect.

“You’re always sensitive to anything throughout the world,” he said. “I’m not thinking about nothing like that. I’m thinking about what I need to do before every game that I prepare for and have been doing my whole career. I understand whatever’s said from that standpoint, but I’m not a disrespectful person. If anybody thinks I’m being disrespectful to their country, then they have no idea who Dwyane Wade is.

“No disrespect from myself or Amar’e (Stoudemire) or anybody. If anybody feels like it was, please don’t fill up my timeline with disrespectful comments, because that’s not this guy right here. Find somebody else with that.”

Given that this does not exactly sound like an apology, this is surely not the last we’ll hear of this story. The Heat and the Raptors will face off again for Game 4 on Monday night in Miami.

The last time something like this happened in the NBA was in 1996, when former Denver Nuggets point guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was famously suspended one game for failing to “stand and line up in a dignified posture” during the national anthem.

CHARLOTTE, NC – APRIL 29: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat brings the ball up the court against the Charlotte Hornets during game six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals of the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Time Warner Cable Arena on April 29, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Article by Pablo Mena