The Miami Heat have released a statement defending the Haitian community against rumors and threats from the far-right in the US.
The NBA team posted a message of support on social media on Monday following false claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, have been eating pets and wild animals.
“The Miami HEAT staff, like Miami itself, is a diverse and brilliant mix of vibrant cultures, including members of our Haitian community,” the team wrote in the statement. “The false narrative surrounding them is hurtful and offensive, and has unfortunately made innocent people the targets of hate speech and physical threats. Our Haitian employees, fans and friends deserve better.”
Heat closed the statement with the words, “ansanm nou kanpé fò,” or “together we stand” in Haitian Creole.
Miami has a large Haitian community, much of which lives in the Little Haiti neighborhood.
The widespread lies circulating within Ohio’s Haitian community were amplified when Donald Trump repeated them during his televised debate with Kamal Harris last week.
“In Springfield, they eat the dogs, the people that came here, they eat the cats,” Trump said. “They eat the pets of the people that live there.”
David Muir, one of the ABC debate hosts, quickly corrected the former president.
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“You mention Springfield, Ohio, and ABC News reached out to the city manager there,” Muir said. “He told us there were no credible reports of specific claims that pets were being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
The city of Springfield believes the rumors also stem from a case in Canton, Ohiowhere in August an American with no known connection to Haiti was arrested for allegedly stomping a cat to death and eating it.
Hospitals and government buildings in Springfield have been the subject of bomb threats in recent days related to the rumors.