Dwyane Wade shared what he doesn’t tolerate in the NBA locker room. Wade opened up about how conversations surrounding his daughter, Zaya, changed the way he views certain jokes and language.
Dwyane Wade says his daughter Zaya changed how he reacted to certain jokes and language
Dwyane Wade opened up in an exclusive clip with PEOPLE ahead of his appearance on the “Conversations With Cam” podcast. He spoke about difficult conversations he had with his teammates regarding his daughter.
He said, “Before we came out and talked about Zaya in the locker rooms, I started to, like, become a little different. I started listening a little bit differently. realized that masculine, toxic environment that we grew up in, and I remember having a conversation with UD because I wasn’t in on the jokes no more. I wasn’t laughing. was leaving out of the locker room when I would hear certain things.”
Wade added that he had previously been in on these jokes. Later, he and his teammate began feeling differently about the language being used.
He said, “He didn’t know, and he eventually changed his thinking, his verbiage, and then his actions.”
The former Miami Heat star shared that he had a safe conversation with Udonis Haslem that created space for growth and support.
“The power of someone that he trusts to have a safe conversation with him in a safe environment to allow for him to feel safe to support something. [and] believe in something that he didn’t grow up knowing anything about or being comfortable talking about. [There] needs to be more spaces provided for those moments,” he added.
Wade is married to Gabrielle Union, and they share a daughter, Kaavia. The former NBA star was previously married to Siohvaughn Funches. He has two children, Zaya and Zaire, with Funches.
Zaya is a fashion influencer and runway model who has used her public platform to discuss identity and self-expression. Wade has supported his daughter publicly, including in conversations surrounding transgender youth.
