A petition was submitted by former professional basketball player Dwyane Wade to a Los Angeles County court to change the name and gender of his 15-year-old transgender daughter, Zaya Wade, legally.
As Zaya Wade is under the age of, 18 her father makes the request, and celebrity news site The Blast viewed the court documents. Former NBA star Dwyane Wade and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, who is Zaya’s stepmother, have been very supportive of Zaya perpetually.
“First of all, me and my wife, we are proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community,” said Dwyane Wade to Ellen DeGeneres on the latter’s talk show in 2020. “We’re proud allies as well. We take our roles and our responsibility as parents very seriously.”
At that time Wade also said: “Our (then) 12-year-old came home. Hey, 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 and I would love for you guys to call me Zaya”
He added, “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.” [H/T Today.com]
For his spectacular NBA records, the 40-year-old Wade is an idol to many people. But it is a matter of his status of parenting now where he has been advocating for his transgender daughter who goes by the name Zaya. Many people have been praising him for the act.
On 17th August, Wednesday, the retired NBA superstar made an official petition to the Los Angeles Superior Court to allow his daughter to change her name legally to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade.
Wade has the full authority to make decisions on behalf of his daughter behalf as the documents stated and he notified the teen’s mother and his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches, of his petition “as a courtesy.”
Dwyane Wade and actress Gabrielle Union wedlocked in August 2014 and welcomed a daughter in November 2018, 3-year-old Kaavia. Also, Wade is dad to 8-year-old son Xavier, with his ex-girlfriend Aja Metoyer, and an older son, 20-year-old pro basketball player Zaire Wade, from his relationship with Funches.
The protective father censured the rise of anti-trans legislation in states across the U.S in June and divulged he was “afraid” for his daughter Zaya’s safety while speaking to CNN’s Poppy Harlow at the Time 100 Summit.
“This is our life. We live this and so when you’re out there making rules, and if you’re not experiencing this and you’re not living this and you’re just out there signing away and making laws, that’s not right. That’s a joke,” said Wade.
“Come and live a day in my world with my daughter,” he added. “Come and see how it is to walk through this world as her.”
The 13-time NBA All-Star further said that anti-trans laws demonstrate a lack of empathy.
“We’re losing the human side of us,” he said. “And as sad as it is, as blessed as my daughter is to have parents who can support her, I’m still afraid every moment she leaves the house. And not just because of gun violence, but because of the way that people perceive her in this world.”
In spite of that fear, Wade told TODAY at the Time 100 Gala’s red carpet event that he and Union try to support and encourage all their kids to be their “real selves.”
The athlete said “I think we have to continue to grow as parents and understand that our kids’ lives are not just about us. We didn’t have them to be a mini version of us. They’re going to become who they are in this world, and it’s our job to find that out.”
“We don’t have to understand everything as parents, but if we lead with love and then we go and find the information, we go out and make sure that our kids have a life that we worked hard for,” he added later.
