Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade Is the True Villain of South Beach

Every story needs a villain, and in the case of the Miami Heat, that villain is Dwyane Wade.

It’s not the popular concept. After LeBron’s “Decision” announcing he’d be taking his talents out of Cleveland, he’s been the easiest guy to hate, but that doesn’t mean he should be the sole focal point of our ire.

Our conflict with James goes well beyond ring chasing and sportsmanship, which we know because if it were to be just about those things, then we’d have to hate Wade just as much.

Somehow in the nations' obsession with hating the Heat, Wade continues to get a free pass. James’ reputation has been dragged through the mud. He’s been called a weak, disloyal (something we’ll get to in a minute) ring-chaser, and we’ve blasted him for being “Scottie Pippen” (as if that is something to be ashamed of).

We’ve hammered Chris Bosh too. Between his quiet demeanor, his flawed skill set within the Heat’s system and his poor play in big games, we’ve been able to kick him around. He comes off like a crony, a sidekick who’s weak but just along for the ride.

If the Heat get bounced short of the Finals (a concept that seems more unlikely these days), then Bosh will be the first one to blame. 

Still, Wade has waltzed through an entire season without much criticism. Wasn’t it Wade who helped conspire to team up with two superstars in order to stack the deck to win a ring?

Wasn’t it Wade who held court with Chicago not once, but twice during the free agency period to increase the drama for his own documentary though he had no intention of playing for the Bulls?

Isn’t it Dwyane Wade, who if he wins another NBA title, would have again needed the help of a player who has played far better than he has in order to do so?

Isn’t it Wade who’s been standoffish with the media at times and had his physical play questioned as “dirty?”

And wasn’t Wade up on stage right alongside James and Bosh in that completely narcissistic celebration?

I know I saw him up there.

While James looked a bit frightened, like he realized the gravity of the pressure he just put on himself, and the fact that the rest of the country might truly hate him, Wade embraced it all. Wade has slipped through the cracks in this whole mess when it’s his reputation that should take the biggest hit.

Wade couldn’t win with the team he was given, a team with which LeBron James could have done better. If the Heat win the NBA Finals it will be because of LeBron James. James might have won a title without Wade, but Wade, without a doubt, needs James to carry him to another ring.

Wade should draw the most criticism, but we won’t give it to him. I won’t believe that Wade gets a pass because he has a ring. If it hadn’t been for Shaq, Wade would be another great scorer who just wasn’t a winner. The point could be disputed, but look at Dirk Nowitzki and see what never winning a ring does to your reputation.

The public’s hatred will unfairly rest on James’ shoulders to a small degree (and rightfully so to some extent) because we expected more from James. Perhaps we accepted that Wade couldn’t win without superior help, but James could have won with inferior help.

However, our real issue with James, and the reason Wade gets a pass, is loyalty. At the end of the day, this country, whether we admit it or not, doesn’t care about ring chasing because it’s done so often, and we don’t care about second fiddle or anything like that. We care about loyalty, and what LeBron James did over the summer was perceived as disloyal.

America is all about loyalty. We throw flames at haters and traitors and fully embrace patriotism, even if it’s sometimes blind. We take great pride in “where we come from” and our allegiance is strong to things that came first and the things that were always there.

While the way James left Cleveland drew our hatred, it was more about the fact that in that moment, fairly or unfairly, we believed that he violated the tenants of loyalty that so many believe so strongly in. Even though our assessment was shortsighted at best (mine included).

I used to work at Walgreens before getting an opportunity to chase my dream. Toward the end I became real disillusioned with my future there. The people were nice, but it wasn’t where I was going to achieve my goals.

Though my co-workers were fond of me, I had full benefits and I received a decent paycheck, I gave it all up for a chance to take far less money to do what I felt would ultimately make me happy. I had worked there for 12 years and left them at a time when they really needed the stability I could bring.

Yet I left to go somewhere that I thought could benefit me long term. I don’t think anyone reading this would call me disloyal, but we did so with James in a similar situation.

We’ll go on hating LeBron James because it’s the easiest thing to do. We’ll always feel that James was disloyal, something we cannot wrap our minds around. However, every discussion about not respecting the journey of a champion and every conversation about selling out the competitive edge that makes sports compelling should be directed at Wade as well.

At the end of the day, it looks as if Wade was the true facilitator of this plan, so doesn’t that make him the true villain of South Beach?