Dwyane Wade’s pre-game routine has sparked a bit of an international incident.
The Miami star has been the subject of some anger on social media after video showed him taking a few extra warm-up shots as the Canadian national anthem was being performed before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against Toronto on Saturday. It was enough for John Tory, Toronto’s mayor, to give his opinion:
Wade tends to not line up for the pre-game anthem ceremony without making his last shot, usually a bank shot from the left wing — even when only The Star-Spangled Banner is played.
“I’m not a disrespectful person,” Wade said on Sunday. “So if anybody thinks I’m being disrespectful to a country, then they don’t know who Dwyane Wade is.”
Wade said he’d adjust his pre-game ritual for Game 4 of the series Monday night.
The anthem before Miami home games is usually played at the end of the warm-up period. When the Raptors — Canada’s only NBA team — come to Miami, the anthems are played about 12 minutes earlier. “If people aren’t here, they see video footage of what they want to see,” Wade said.