“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” aired an episode on Wednesday where James Shaw Jr., who is known as the Waffle House Hero, was surprised by a visit from his hero on the basketball court, three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade.
Shaw risked his life on April 22 at a Waffle House near Nashville, Tenn., to prevent a domestic terrorist, Travis Reinking, from killing more people. Reinking, who is white, used an AR-15 rifle to murder four people of color before Shaw knocked him down, sending him fleeing.
On “Ellen,” Shaw said that his two favorite things in the world are his four-year-old daughter, Brooklyn Michelle Paige Shaw, and basketball.
“Do you have a favorite player,” DeGeneres asked.
“Dwyane Wade,” he responded.
“Why is that” DeGeneres questioned.
“I like the way he carries himself off the court,” Shaw said.
“Let’s see how he carries himself out here,” DeGeneres said. “Dwyane, come on out.”
DeGeneres said that Wade “dropped everything” for the last-minute appearance.
“I know you don’t want to be called a hero but I look at you as an American hero,” Wade said.
He said that Shaw is brave. And Wade also said that when he sits down with his kids to talk about role models, “I will tell them to go look up James Shaw Jr.”
Wade presented Shaw with a $20,000 check to help him with his cause of raising awareness for mental health issues in the U.S.
“I knew Ellen was doing something. I couldn’t be outdone,” Wade said. “I wanted to make sure I matched it as well.”
President Donald Trump still hasn’t recognized the bravery of Shaw, a graduate of Tennessee State University and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Celebrities, journalists and the American public at large are all showing admiration for his actions.
A New York journalist, Yashir Ali, launched a GoFundMe account in April to help create a college fund for Shaw’s daughter.
Last week Don Lemon, host of “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon,” blasted Trump for not mentioning the Waffle House shooting on Twitter because the shooter isn’t Muslim, he said.
“It’d be nice if [the President] tweeted about the four people who lost their lives in the Waffle House, the four Black people who lost their lives, and the Black hero from that,” Lemon said.
On Tuesday, more than two weeks after the incident, the Trump administration said it’s looking to set up a meeting with Shaw at the White House.
“My understanding is that there has been an outreach effort to bring him here to the White House, and I’ll keep you updated on that as I have more information,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters during a White House press briefing.
