Dwyane Wade and Jay Leno

Dwyane Wade was Jay Leno's guest on Monday's Tonight Show.

Not a word was spoken about Wade's recent controversial statement.

Watch video of Wade's comment.

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=0d877622-0374-4994-8bae-af65c55a34cb" target="_new" title="">Wade's 'World Trade' comments</a>

Dwyane Wade issued an apology Monday to those who may have been offended by his use of the phrase "World Trade" while answering a question about the upcoming Miami Heat season.

The All-Star guard made the remark Sunday before the annual charity basketball game he co-hosts with Alonzo Mourning.

Standing at his locker before a group of reporters, Wade said:

"There's going to be times when we might lose one, two games in a row, maybe two games, three games in a row, you never know. It's going to seem like the world is crashed down. You all are going to make it seem like the World Trade has just went down again. But it's not going to be nothing but a couple basketball games lost and we'll have to get back on track."

On Monday, before leaving on a flight to Los Angeles for some television appearances - he was previously booked to talk with Jay Leno - Wade issued an apology through the Heat.

In the statement, Wade said: "In an interview yesterday, I attempted to explain how some people may view the Miami Heat losing a few basketball games in a row during the upcoming season. It appears that my reference to the World Trade Center has been either inaccurately reported or taken completely out of context. I was simply trying to say that losing a few basketball games should not be compared to a real catastrophe.

"While it was certainly not my intention, I sincerely apologize to anyone who found my reference to the World Trade Center to be insensitive or offensive."

On the very day that Wade made his apology, it was as if the controversy didn't exist.

I believe that Wade wasn't showing any disrespect to victims of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Nonetheless, he apologized to anyone who was offended. That's good.

I can understand why Wade wouldn't want to dwell on it.

Still, during the interview, it was like the elephant in the room.

I think Wade should have made a very quick comment about the controversy and moved on from there. Not mentioning it at all came off as almost arrogant. It seemed like Wade stubbornly refused to talk about it and Leno obliged, typical pampered athlete stuff.

That was a mistake, especially since Wade appears to have sincerely meant no harm whatsoever by referencing the 9/11 attacks and speedily apologized for making the comment.

Briefly addressing the subject on Leno would have put the matter to rest completely. If he had, I wouldn't be writing that Wade failed to mention it during his appearance on The Tonight Show.

Video.

Dwyane Wade raps.



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