Kwame Brown Takes Latest Aim at Dwyane Wade
Since his departure from the NBA, former No. 1 pick Kwame Brown has been an outspoken figure in the realm of sports, politics, and life in general.
His latest rant regards Zaya Wade, the transgender daughter of former Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade. Brown was critical of Zaya wearing a dress with Kobe Bryant’s jersey attached.
“Kobe Bryant’s children are not honoring him by wearing a dress,” Brown said on his "Bust Life" YouTube show on Thursday. “Kobe Bryant’s wife is not honoring him by wearing a dress. I don’t think nobody else is honoring Kobe by wearing a dress. Kobe Bryant was a masculine man.”
Brown felt like Zaya Wade’s dress was not representative of what Bryant embodied. The “Mamba Mentality” instilled characteristics such as masculinity, work ethic and faith, and Brown felt like these were dishonored in the outfit Zaya wore.
“Since a teenager, he was saying ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,’” Brown continued. “That’s some of the personal conversations that me and Kobe had, through Christ he believed he could do anything. Now how does that tie in with a teenage kid, who feels like he’s a woman now, putting this man’s jersey into a f****** dress?”
Brown says he wanted to address Wade himself to avoid publicly attacking a child. He blames Wade’s parental choices for Zaya’s “disrespectful” tribute, saying that “I don’t think Dwyane Wade levels up as a man anymore.”
Despite the controversy, Wade continues to support his daughter, and has not responded to Brown’s comments.
Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant