The Miami Heat released a statement in support of the Haitian community, condemning the “false narratives surrounding them” that are hurtful and offensive.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) September 16, 2024
A seemingly baseless rumor was started about Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, and it was given more national attention when Donald Trump brought it up during the presidential debate between him and Kamala Harris last Tuesday.
Trump: Illegal aliens are eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio. pic.twitter.com/As1hgA0P6G
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 11, 2024
Trump was then fact-checked on the issue, but it doesn’t appear to have stopped the hate that is coming towards the Haitian community.
Here's Trump getting fact-checked on the Springfield/immigrants eating pets hoax and just desperately responding "they said it on TV" pic.twitter.com/nHBOBJuDqP
— jordan (@JordanUhl) September 11, 2024
Erika Lee, a Springfield resident behind a Facebook post that created a harmful and baseless claim against the Haitian community, has apologized for her actions.
“It just exploded into something I didn’t mean to happen,” Lee told NBC News.
It’s an extremely unfortunate situation, especially since a candidate in the running for president helped spread this hurtful rumor. Lee said she would be “terrified” if she was in the position of the Haitian community at the moment.
“I feel for the Haitian community,” she said. “If I was in the Haitians’ position, I’d be terrified, too, worried that somebody’s going to come after me because they think I’m hurting something that they love and that, again, that’s not what I was trying to do.”
It’s truly disappointing to see this happen, and it’s nice to see that the Heat are showing their support during this time.
According to NBC, Florida’s Miami-Dade County is home to one of the most concentrated populations of Haitians in the United States. There are 2.7 million residents in the county itself, and about 3.7 percent of them are Haitian.
The Heat are clearly showing support for their community, and hopefully their statement will help spark more support for the Haitian community throughout the country.
Even though the 2024-25 regular season has yet to start, the Heat are still making sure that their presence is known in Miami-Dade County.
The franchise will look to give all of its fans and the county’s residents something to cheer about this season after losing in the first round of the playoffs during the 2023-24 campaign. Hopefully, the Heat can find the magic that helped them reach the NBA Finals in the 2022-23 season once again.
