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Whiteside admits assault rifle was stolen: 'It won't happen again'

Abbie Parr / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside issued a statement Thursday after 640 AM radio host Andy Slater reported the big man's $50,000 M16 assault rifle was stolen shortly after he purchased it.

Whiteside bought the weapon and then left it in his unlocked Rolls Royce on July 5, before realizing the next day that it was gone. It was recovered from a stolen vehicle and returned to the 7-footer later in July.

"I have a license for the gun that was stolen from me over the summer," Whiteside said in the statement, according to Miami Herald's Anthony Chiang. "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 didn't violate any team rules by purchasing - or subsequently losing - the firearm, according to Chiang.

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