UPDATE: NBA FanHouse has issued a retraction to the quote due to a transcription error. As word spread of the alleged quote, outrage was heavy. The correct quote from Wade was:
""We’re going to be wearing a bullseye. But that’s what you play for,” Wade said. “We enjoy the bullseye. Plus, there’s going to be times when we lose 2-3 games in a row, and it seems like the world has crashed down. You all are going to make it seem like the World Trade is coming down again, but it’s not going to be nothing but a couple basketball games.”
Quite a big difference. Wade still shouldn’t be invoking 9/11, but the difference is monumental.
The three NBA superstars that teamed up a few weeks ago need to buy some duct tape for their mouths. As popular opinion has turned sharply on three of the most popular players in the NBA, the public relations gaffes have continued, and today we may have the biggest.
In an interview with NBA FanHouse’s Tim Povtak, Dwyane Wade made the following comment about the pressure the Heat face (emphasis mine):
Um, Dwyane? Buddy? Come back to the light. It’s true that it’s been nearly nine years since, you, know, the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, but it’s still probably a pretty touchy subject for a lot of Americans. There’s simply no excuse for the comparison.
No disrespect was intended by Wade, and everyone knows that, but the perception of insensitivity is only going to make it a bigger uphill battle for Heat PR to battle. There are worse things Wade could have said. I just can’t think of any at the moment.