Dwyane Wade is grateful to Mike Tyson for standing up for his daughter, Zaya, and his family. The boxer had a conversation with Boosie Badazz recently and he addressed the disparaging and transphobic comments the rapper has made about Wade’s transgender daughter.
The former NBA star talked about Boosie’s appearance on Tyson’s podcast and said it was “great to hear” the boxer come to his family’s defense. “I actually talked to Mike about that early in the pandemic,” the NBA star said on Central Ave on Friday (Nov. 20.) “We had a conversation. I appreciated from a standpoint of, you know, Mike is someone who has never tried to be perfect. He is someone who has learned from this journey of life.”
He added: “He’s one of those people … he’s so smart, he’s so educated and knowledgeable about life and for him to drop that nugget on the world … to me, it was great to hear him say that.”
The athlete said that despite Boosie’s derogatory comments, he “understand(s) that everyone has their own path, their own journey toward accepting things.”
He added: “I’ve never came out and said anything to anybody that feels a certain way about me or someone else in my family, my loved ones — because they don’t know us, they don’t know our heart and they definitely don’t know Zaya. So, all I do is what my mama say, ‘Just pray for them.’”
Boosie Badazz sat down for a conversation with Tyson on an episode of “Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson” in October, and the former professional boxer addressed the Louisiana rapper’s past transphobic comments about Wade’s child. “Why do you say things about people who might be a homosexual? Why do you say that about them?” Tyson asks the rapper. “Do you feel there’s a possibility that you’re a homosexual and by disrespecting them you further yourself from being a homosexual? I’m thinking you may like homosexuals.”
Boosie fired back saying he was “straight as an arrow,” and said he only commented on the situation because Zaya is a child. “If it was a motherfucking 19-year-old, 18-year-old, grown person, I probably wouldn’t have, I know I wouldn’t have said anything.” the rapper said.
“I agree with you 100 percent, me, I agree with you right, but check this out. Who the f-ck am I to say anything?” Tyson responded. “What I think don’t mean a motherfucking thing.”
The “Wipe Me Down” rapper has said in the past that he is not interested in apologizing to the Wade family regarding his comments. Wade and his wife, Gabrielle Union, on the other hand, have become vocal supporters of the LGBTQ+ community and have been open about his daughter’s transgender journey since they attended Miami Beach Pride festival with Zaya in April 2019.