Taking a stand. Dwyane Wade decided to move his family out of Florida due to state legislation that negatively impacts the LGBTQ+ community.
“That’s another reason why I don’t live in that state,” the former professional basketball player, 41, said on the Thursday, April 27, episode of Headliners With Rachel Nichols. “A lot of people don’t know that. I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions.”
Wade continued: “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.”
The retired athlete, who currently resides in Los Angeles with wife Gabrielle Union, has been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community since his 15-year-old daughter, Zaya, came out as transgender in 2020. At the time, Wade recalled when he first learned about his child’s identity.
“[She] said, ‘Hey, so I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward, I’m ready to live my truth. And I want to be referenced as she and her. I would love for you guys to call me Zaya,’” he explained on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “Now it’s our job to one, go out and get information, to reach out to every relationship that we have. We’re just trying to figure out as much information as we can to make sure that we give our child the best opportunity to be her best self.”
Wade noted that it was a parent’s job “to listen” to their children and to “give them the best information that we can, the best feedback that we can. And that doesn’t change because sexuality is now involved in it.”
The Illinois native shares Zaya and son Zaire, 21, with ex Siohvaughn Funches and son Xavier, 9, with Aja Metoyer. In 2018, Wade welcomed daughter Kaavia with Union, 50.
Wade and Funches previously made headlines when the public speaker contested a legal petition to allow their daughter to change her name and gender officially. Following a legal battle, which started in November 2022, a court issued a legal name and gender change for Zaya.
Wade previously addressed his ongoing concerns about Zaya’s experience as a Black transgender woman.
“As blessed as it is for my daughter to have parents who can support her, I’m still afraid every moment she leaves the house,” he told CNN in June 2022. “And not just because of gun violence, but because of the way people perceive her in this world. To me, it’s a joke. This is our life. We live this. When you’re out there making rules, if you’re not experiencing this. Come and live a day with my daughter. Come and see how it is to walk through this world as her.”
That same month, Wade praised Zaya for the impact she continues to make on her community — and exclusively told Us Weekly that she has a unique perspective on Pride Month.
“My family, we’re not celebrating [Pride]. Zaya made it very clear that she [doesn’t] want to celebrate Pride. I think every day for her, having a loving, supportive community around her is her celebratory moment,” he explained at the time. “But the biggest thing is my daughter said, ‘We want to be able to help other families.’ So, throughout our foundations, we try to make sure we are helping the LGBTQIA+ community. That’s how we celebrate.”
During Thursday’s interview, Wade reflected on how his approach to raising his children was shaped by his own father.
“I tell my dad all the time, I’m just a mirror image of the way he loved us and the way that he accepted not only myself and my brothers but other kids in the community that didn’t have father figures,” he said on the Showtime series. “And so, I don’t know any difference. And so yes, I had to educate myself and yes, I had to get a better understanding. And yes, I had to lose some friends along the process, but I never wavered on loving my kids and trying to find space to get the chance to understand them.”
