Dwyane Wade’s cousin Nykea Aldridge was shot and killed in Chicago last Friday afternoon while she was walking down the street with one of her four children. The Bulls star responded by mourning his cousin's loss on Twitter and calling for change in his hometown in the 24 hours following her death:
On Friday morning, Wade appeared on Good Morning America to talk about how his family is dealing with the tragedy—and to address the gun violence that continues to plague the city of Chicago. He started the interview by speaking about how shocked his family was to learn about Aldridge’s death:
"It’s tough," he said. "It was, for our family, it was very tough. The headlines alone. You know, a mother walking down the street, registering her kids in school, a mother of four gets murdered. It’s tough to deal with it. It’s kind of one of those moments for our family that’s like, 'This is not real.' My cousin, I would say she was the quiet one. She would be there, she would be about her kids, she would be about her family, but you would never know she was in the room. It was shocking. It was shocking to hear not only that she was murdered, but it was shocking to hear the way and the how. Her mother, my auntie, my mother, the family is tore up."
Wade then spoke about what it was like to hear people mention his name more than his cousin’s name when reporting the news:
"Coming off of doing a town hall meeting [with ESPN], we’re using our voice, using our platform to try to shed some light on the city of Chicago," he said. "And then, hours later, one of my family members is killed. For me, it was tough. I want my family to grieve in private as much as possible, right? But as well, because my name is attached to it, it becomes this national story. A lot of things I seen wasn’t even her name. That hurt me to be the name that they talked about, instead of talking about a mother of four. That kind of hurt me and put me in a dark place for a few hours."
Wade also talked about what he tells his sons when they ask about issues like gun violence and police brutality:
"I try to tell them right from wrong," he said, "but then they come back to you and they say, 'Well, Dad, kids are being killed by police officers. I thought you said police officers was safe.' My boys are afraid of police just the same way I was when I was growing up. Not all police obviously, but my boys hear everything that’s going on in the world and all the harassment, all the murders that’s going on, and they pose the question back to me. And what answer do I have for them? They know how involved I am in the community, so then I take that and I have answers for the city. I go to the mayor, I go to the city, and say, 'What are we doing to strengthen gun laws? What are we doing to help our police?'"
And Wade acknowledged that Chicago needs to make some big changes if it wants to put an end to the problems in the city:
"[Chicago police] are fighting a war," he said. "They can do a lot better, but they can get more help as well to do better. There’s other cities that have way tougher gun laws. We have weak gun laws. We have to do a better job of being leaders—all of us. The leadership in our world today and in our communities is suffering, big time."
Additionally, Wade responded to the tweet Donald Trump sent out after learning about his cousin’s death:
"I was kind of conflicted," he said. "On one end, your cousin’s death is used as a ploy for political gain. On the other end, it’s a national story. It goes back to that for me. I want eyes on the city. I want us to be able to do more together. The only way we do more together is if more people know what’s going on. I was grateful that it started a conversation, but on the other end, 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 a political gain."
And towards the end of the interview, Wade mentioned that he feels as though he was meant to sign with the Bulls this summer so that he could help lead the charge to bring about change in Chicago:
"She’s strong," he said while discussing his cousin's mother, Diane Aldridge. "My Auntie Diane is a very strong woman. Her faith in God, she’s right there with my mother always. Their belief is so strong. If she can forgive, then I think anyone should forgive. But I don’t think we should forget. I really think now that my purpose for being back in the city is bigger than basketball. Basketball is a big part of it, of course. This is what I do for a living. But I think my purpose at the end of the day is hopefully to come to Chicago and be a part and be the voice that can help bring people together."
Sad as the story about Wade’s cousin is, it’s good to hear that he plans on trying to use it to help his hometown.
