On Monday, Dwyane Wade said that he became emotional after learning that one of the students who was killed during the February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was buried wearing a jersey that bared his name. The parents of shooting victim Joaquin Oliver revealed that their son was laid to rest in a replica Wade jersey this past Sunday while speaking on the Univision program Al Punto.
"You really can't put that in words. You hurt for the family," Wade told reporters on Monday, according to ESPN. "If you ever get the opportunity to speak to them, you just try to hope the time where he was alive that you were able to bring some type of joy to his life and something memorable. A story that his family and you guys can talk about."
Parkland, the city in which Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS resides, sits less than 50 miles north of Miami, a city Wade helped lead to three NBA titles. After spending a season in Chicago and half a season in Cleveland, Wade was traded back to the Heat (where he spent the first 13 seasons of his career) just a week prior to the shooting. After learning about Oliver, Wade tweeted out the following:
On Monday, he expanded a little upon that tweet. "Like I said, I retweeted on Twitter, you're going to make me cry. It's emotional even thinking about that, that his parents felt that, buried him in my jersey was something that he wanted," he explained. "I take pride in what I've done in this state and what I've meant for the youth. I appreciate it."
