Dwayne Wade is undoubtedly one of the greatest, if not the greatest Miami Heat player of all time. Having made over $200,00,000 in earnings over his lifetime, Wade actually grew up ‘broke’. A product of South Chicago, Wade had a hard upbringing.
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South Chicago has always had a reputation for being one of the most violent and drug-infested neighborhoods in the country. It wouldn’t be out of pocket if even kids as young as 8 years old would find themselves involved with drugs and gang violence. This fact was well understood by Wade’s sister Tragil Wade. Tragil early on understood that she had to find a way to get her brother out of the ‘hood’.
Though Targil was not much older than Dwayne she understood that the responsibility lay on her shoulders to ensure Wade’s safety. Eventually, Tragil ended up devising a plan, which saw Wade moving in with their father who lived in a better part of town. Reminiscing on the incident, Dwayne credited his sister for saving his life in his book ” A Father First: How my life became bigger than basketball”.
The situation for the kids got so dire due to Wade’s father and mother being separated. As the kids got older, their father stop coming around as often while their mother stayed out longer to provide for the family. Understanding that the two now had to fend for themselves, Tragil took the lead and ensured that her baby brother was taken care of.
Tragil Ensures Wade’s Future by Persuading Their Dad to Take in Young Dwayne
Dwayne and Tragil were close growing up. But as Wade started to grow older, his sister realized that the day wasn’t far when Wade would start hanging around the street corners with his friends. Tragil knew nothing good would come of it. As their father started to focus more on his other family, Tragil started making offhand comments saying ” Sons need their father” and that ” Their thing which moms cant teach their sons”.
Dwayne in his book A father first, quoted his sister saying the above. He also explained that he understood that as he grew older her anxiety around his future and safety grew. Tragil even took matters as far as going to their father’s house and badgering Dwayne Sr to take his son in.
The brave gamble by Tragil turned out great as just 10 years later Dwayne would go 5th overall in a stacked 2003 draft.
Tragil Sneakily Takes Dwayne to Meet Their Father Under the Pretense of Going to the Movies
Going to the movies once in a while was how the Wade siblings blew off some steam. But when matters were escalating quickly, Tragil once used going to the movies as an excuse to drag her brother to their father’s house.
While at the house Tragil convinced her father to take Dwayne in, as somewhere both daughter and father knew that, growing up in the ‘hood’ would be a death sentence for the young Wade.
Many years later Dwayne would pen down his thanks for his sister in the book A Father First, giving credit to the woman who made him the star he is today.
