Dwyane Wade Confirms His 12-Year-Old Child Is Transgender
By Whitney Vasquez on February 11, 2020 at 5:46 AM EST
Dwyane Wade is a proud parent and he's speaking out about the moment his 12-year-old child came out to the NBA star and his wife, Gabrielle Union, changing their name and revealing they'd like to be called by "her" and "she" pronouns. The 38-year-old athlete opened up to Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show and discussed being an all LGBTQ+ ally and how that applies to his home. Telling Ellen that he hopes to give his child “the best opportunity to be her best self," he was met with applause from the talk show host.
Praising him for being a supportive dad, Ellen DeGeneres responded, “First of all, I think it’s what every parent should be is what you’re being right now, which is unconditionally loving your child and supporting your child in whoever they are.” Dwyane Wade told her, “Me and my wife Gabrielle Union are proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community. “And we are proud allies as well. We take our roles and our responsibility as parents very seriously." Expanding on that, Dwyane Wade continued, "So when our child comes home with a question, when a child comes home with an issue, when a child comes home with anything, it’s our job as parents to listen to that, to give them the best information that we can, to give them the best feedback that we can — and that doesn’t change because sexuality is now involved in it.”
The basketball legend then went on to reveal his 12-year-old has changed their name and wants to be called "she" from now on. “So once Zaya, our 12-year-old, came home — first Zion, I don’t know if everyone knows, originally named Zion, born as a boy — came home and said, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward I’m ready to live my truth. I want to be referenced as she and her, I would love for you guys to call me Zaya,’ ” Dwyane Wade revealed. He also told Ellen DeGeneres that Gabrielle Union reached out to the cast of "Pose" to collect as much knowledge as possible.
“So internally, it’s now our job to go out and get information, to reach out to every relationship that we have — my wife reached out to everybody on the cast of Pose — 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,” he said. Dwyane Wade called proudly called Zaya "a leader," telling Ellen, “Once Zaya came home and said, ‘I want you to call me Zaya and I’m ready to take on this,’ I looked at her and said, ‘You are a leader. And this is our opportunity to allow you to be a voice.'" The NBA star is also dad to Kaavia James, 15 months, Xavier Zechariah, 6, and Zaire Blessing Dwyane, 18, and guardian of his nephew Dahveon Morris, 18.
