If there’s one thing Dwyane Wade knows, it’s how to win championships.
At 24, he shouldered the Miami Heat to his first. A little more than five years later, he helped LeBron James and Chris Bosh win their first.
Simply put, the man understands how to lead guys to the Promised Land. So it comes as no surprise Wade recently compared winning a title to what Americans must do to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“People think its easy to bring 15 guys together and win a championship and play as a team,” Wade told former teammate Udonis Haslem Sunday on Instagram Live. “Right now, we’re asking the whole country to play as a team. You see how hard it is.”
Wade’s comments followed his praise of Haslem for his recent Player’s Tribune piece. In it, the Heat lifer blasted Spring Breakers for coming to his city and their obliviousness of the COVID-19 crisis.
“This ain’t your (expletive) beach, bruh,” he wrote. “This is not your spring break. This (expletive) is real life — and come to think of it, it’s more than even that. This (expletive) is life and death.”
Wade’s analogy perfectly expressed not just how his fellow Americans but also the country as a whole have struggled to grasp the virus’ severity. As of Thursday afternoon, nine states have still yet to issue stay-at-home orders. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis only recently signed the mandate after weeks of pressure.
Both Wade and Haslem’s recent messages stressed one thing: the importance of unity. As the popular adage goes, there’s no “I” in team. America, regardless of hometown, political affiliation, or socioeconomic status, is essentially now on one team with the common goal of improving public health.
The upcoming months will be difficult. Nobody will argue that. But if you want to one day see friends in public, wash your hands, practice safe social distancing and, to quote UD, “keep your ass home.”
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