Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters reportedly suffered a panic attack and seizure on a team flight due to over-consumption of “gummy” edibles according to Andy Slater. The 27-year-old was medically-treated following the flight and was listed as “out” for the team’s matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA prohibits the consumption of THC.
UPDATE: Dion Waiters is the Heat player who had medical emergency on team plane, I’ve confirmed.
Waiters overdosed on “gummies,” sources say, and was passed out when plane landed.
He had a seizure when he was finally woken up, I’m told.
Waiters was listed out tonight (illness)
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) November 9, 2019
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnaroswki and Brian Windhorst report Waiters missed the team’s game against Phoenix due to a stomach ache. Waiters took a gummy that he was “unfamiliar with” and suffered a panic attack. He was passed out when the flight landed, according to ESPN. The Miami Heat organization declined ESPN’s request for comment.
To make matters even more bizarre, Shams Charania of The Atheltic reports that Waiters received the gummy from a teammate. Waiters will not disclose the name of the teammate.
The Heat believe Waiters was given the “gummy” by a teammate, but Waiters has been reluctant and has decided not to say who provided it, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Waiters has had a tumultuous series of events with Miami this season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 10, 2019
Waiters is in deep water with the Heat already, as the team suspended him earlier this season for “conduct detrimental to the team”. He also missed the preseason for personal reasons, and called out the Heat on social media this past January due to his lack of playing time. So there is a cloud of mystique and unsavoriness to seemingly everything he is involved in. Miami owes Waiters $24 million this season and next but could recoup some of that if he is suspended without pay.
From the perspective of the on-court product, Miami does not even need Waiters right now. Rookie Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn have picked up the scoring slack, and at a much more efficient clip. So the pathway back to the court for Waiters is not only difficult because of the personal issues, but the players in front of him have made it even harder too.
