Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance created quite the stir with false accusations of Haitian immigrants allegedly eating pets in his home state of Ohio. Former President Donald Trump brought more attention to it when he said the same thing during the presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. Now, the NBA’s Miami Heat has gone on the defensive for the “hateful speech” and has sent a message defending the Haitian community.
“The Miami HEAT staff, like Miami itself, is a diverse and brilliant mix of vibrant cultures, including many members of our Haitian community. The false narrative surrounding them is hurtful and offensive and has sadly made innocent people targets of hateful speech and physical threats.
“Our Haitian employees, fans and friends deserve better.”
According to NBC News, the population of Haitians in Miami-Dade County is one of the most concentrated
in the country. Miami-Dade accounts for 3.7% of the county’s 2.7 million residents are Haitians, making up about 2.4% of the state’s population.On Sept. 12, two days after the airing of the presidential debate, reports came out of Springfield, Ohio, that Springfield City Hall was evacuated because city officials received a bomb threat. 10 WBNS reported that the city was getting national
attention ever since Vance started spreading rumors that Haitian immigrants have been seen abducting pets and eating them.The Associated Press reports that Springfield city officials have denied and disputed Trump’s and Vance’s outrageous claims.
Vance was on CNN recently and admitted to making up the story regarding Haitians stealing and eating local pets. He claimed he wanted to bring “attention” to the “suffering” of the American people.
“The American
media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance stated.RELATED CONTENT: Springfield Community Flocks To Support Haitian Restaurants In Light Of Trump Rumors