INDIANAPOLIS _ Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside confirmed Thursday in a statement issued through the Miami Heat that a firearm he legally owns was stolen from him over the summer.
The Heat issued the following statement Thursday from Whiteside, "I have a license for the gun that was stolen from me over the summer. I should have secured it better and I'm glad it was recovered. It won't happen again. It is now locked in a safe and I only use it at the gun range."
Whiteside's statement was issued after South Florida radio personality Andy Slater reported, "According to exclusively-obtained police reports, Whiteside bought a $50,000 Colt M16 assault rifle, ammunition, a rifle bag, and a silencer at Johnson's Firearms in Miami on July 5. Whiteside went directly from the gun store to the University of Miami for a workout. As he practiced in the Hurricanes gym for about an hour, Whiteside left his Rolls Royce unlocked."
The report continued, "After reviewing surveillance video, Coral Gables police determined that the gun was not stolen on campus, as he believed. Whiteside was the only person seen to go in and out of his unlocked $400,000 car. About two weeks later, Whiteside and his attorneys spoke with detectives. During that conversation, Whiteside remembered that he had left the just-purchased rifle unattended in his unlocked car when he went back inside the gun store."
A team spokesman said not team rule was violated.
Had Whiteside actually taken the firearm onto campus he would have violated University of Miami and state policy that "prohibit the possession, control or display of any firearm, electric weapon or device, destructive device or weapon, as defined by Florida Statute, while on the property of the University of Miami." The policy states that "individuals who possess a Florida state-issued or -recognized license ... are not exempt."
Whiteside has previously posted social media regarding his time at gun ranges. LeBron James and several other Heat players in recent years have also posted on social media about visits to South Florida gun ranges, with former Heat center Chris "Birdman" Andersen chronicling hunting exploits that included an alligator expedition with current Heat tri-captain Udonis Haslem.
