It’s not totally unusual to see professional male athletes don the color pink during games. Throughout the month of October NFL football players can be seen wearing everything from pink gloves, sweatbands, towels and cleats on the field to raise “breast cancer awareness” (whatever that means). So, when Mike Miller entered game 3 of the NBA finals with some curiously girly looking shoelaces, fans might have thought the Miami Heat forward (and former Florida Gator) was making a similar statement. But Miller had a different motivation for getting his pink on. Last Thursday his wife gave birth to their third child, a daughter, Jaelyn. Miller celebrated the birth of his daughter by lacing up his basketball shoes with pink shoelaces. He talks to reporters about it here.

But, while her dad’s been battling the Bulls for a spot in the NBA Finals, little Jaelyn is fighting an undisclosed illness that has kept her in ICU for the first week of her life. From ESPN:

“She’s still in ICU,” Miller said as he dressed quickly after speaking to reporters, then headed toward a side door to leave the arena. “She had some complications. But it’s going to be all right. She’s a fighter. She’s the most important thing I’m thinking about right now.”

Despite his daughter’s illness, which might require a surgical procedure, Miller, who was instrumental in the Heat’s win against the Chicago this Tuesday, will travel with his team to IL face the Bulls in game 5 tonight. I can’t say that I’ll be rooting for the Heat tonight (even though I do love me some Gators in the NBA), but I will definitely be keeping little Jaelyn in my prayers.