Dwyane Wade.Photo:Courtesy of Thorne
Courtesy of Thorne
Politics could be written in the stars forDwyane Wade.
Three months after reports surfaced that Florida Democrats were eyeing NBA legends Wade, 41, and Grant Hill, 50, as possible candidates for a U.S. Senate run in 2024, the former Miami Heat point guard has shared his reaction to the news.
He then confirmed that he has been approached about running for political office — but laughed off any questioning about whether he would actually consider launching a campaign.
“I mean, it’s just conversation,” Wade said. “‘Hey, you would be good for,’ ‘Hey, we can see you in,’ ‘We would love to have you in.’”
He continued, “It’s things that I’m passionate about that I will speak out on and speak up for. And so I don’t play the politician games. I don’t know a lot about it.”
A primary factor behind the support for a potential Wade candidacy has to do with his advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights. He and his wife, Gabrielle Union, share two daughters, including 15-year-oldZaya, whocame out as transgenderin 2020. Since their daughter’s transition, thecouple have been outspokenin their support of transgender rights.
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Of his advocacy, Wade, who wasinducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fameon Saturday, told the outlet he’s aware of the significance of his platform: “I also understand that I have a role as an American citizen and as a known person to be able to highlight and speak on things that other people may not be able to because they don’t have the opportunity to do this.”
The family alsorecently relocated from Florida to Californiain the wake of an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation passed under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions,” Wade told Rachel Nichols during an episode ofHeadlinersthis spring. “I mean, obviously, the tax [situation] is great. Having Wade County is great. But my family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there. And so that’s one of the reasons why I don’t live there.”
Ray Paultre, who is the executive director of progressive donor group The Florida Alliance, previously told NBC News that Wade is “a Florida legend, whose leadership past and present has a lot of folks in our state sending feelers out.”
“We have seen former athletes, in both parties, bring something special to the political landscape,” Paultre said at the time. “He hasn’t been officially approached, but he is on the list of four or five dream candidates to challenge Rick Scott.”
The efforts to draw in either Wade or Hill came from a desire to beat the incumbent, far-right Sen.Rick Scott.
In February, as part of his “11-Point Plan to Rescue America,” Scott proposed several sweeping measures targeting LGBTQ+ rights,NBC Newsreported. The proposal included a call for nationwide bans on issues such as rules around transgender women in sports, and slammed the “radical left” for what he called an effort to “devalue and redefine the traditional family,” a clear attack on same-sex marriage.
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A veteran Democratic operative from the state said in the outlet’s initial report that “top donors and party leaders know they need different kinds of candidates with pre-existing profiles to mount statewide campaigns.”
The source added: “There’s a short list of retired athletes and business leaders who could fit that bill, and Dwyane Wade tops that list.”
source: people.com
