Former NBA player Kwame Brown ripped Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade after Wade’s transgender daughter honored Kobe Bryant by wearing a dress
Brown offered a rant (at the 37-second mark) that focused on Zaya Wade’s dress, which resembles Bryant’s iconic Los Angeles Lakers jersey.
“I don’t think you level up as a man,” Brown said. “You are letting your woman control your house. You played this thing called basketball. This is a game. Kobe Bryant’s children are not honoring him by wearing a dress. Kobe Bryant’s wife is not honoring him by wearing a dress. I don’t think nobody else is honoring Kobe Bryant by wearing a dress. Kobe Bryant was a masculine man.”
The younger Wade’s reason for honoring Bryant was because Thursday marked the second anniversary of the shocking helicopter crash that killed Bryant.
Such tributes have been plentiful across the NBA, given Bryant’s stature. However, Brown clearly sought to strike a nerve with the elder Wade by questioning his masculinity with his explosive opinions.
The homophobic nature of Brown’s anger about a transgender person’s way of honoring an NBA legend was only one apsect of his controversial remarks.
In addition, the reference to the elder Wade’s wife, Gabrielle Union, wielding power in the couple’s household was meant to portray Wade as being weak.
The 39-year-old Brown was the top overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, but never reached his potential during his NBA career.
Brown last played with the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2012-13 season, while the elder Wade fashioned a career that has him destined for a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
There are likely some basketball fans that would attribute jealousy toward the elder Wade as Brown’s main motive. However, Brown has seemingly been fixated on gender-related concerns.
Last year, he offered blistering criticism toward Russell Westbrook after the Los Angeles Lakers’ guard appeared at a fashion show wearing a dress.
In the end, the likelihood is that the elder Wade will ignore Brown’s insults and simply continue to focus on the well-being of his family.