The NBA star opened up to Rachel Nichols on her 'Headliners' show on Showtime.
Dwyane Wade will do everything in his hands to protect his family, and that includes moving his family out of Florida. The NBA legend spoke Rachel Nichols for her Showtime series Headliners, in which Wade revealed that restrictive laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community -- including his 15-year-old transgender daughter, Zaya -- proved to be the deciding factor to leave the state.
"That's another reason why I don't live in that state," said the three-time NBA champion in Thursday's show. "A lot of people don't know that. I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions. Obviously, the taxes 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."
Wade is no stranger to criticizing lawmakers who have passed laws denying trans youth access to gender-affirming medical care and blocking trans athletes from competing in school sports aligned with their gender identity. The issue reached a boiling point just this month when, according to CBS News, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis once again targeted the LGBTQ+ community by expanding the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill.
The House also passed bills on gender-transition treatments, bathroom use and keeping children out of drag shows. The law's expansion would ban classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades and not just up to the third grade.
Back in August 2022, Wade filed a petition on behalf of Zaya, who was born Zion Malachi Airamis Wade, to legally change her name and gender. After Zaya's mother filed an objection in court, Wade responded in court saying, "Zaya should not be forced to put her life on hold while she waits for Siohvaughn [Funches-Wade] to acknowledge and accept her truth."
In February, a Los Angeles judge granted her official name and gender change request. When ET spoke to Wade and Gabrielle Union following the judge's ruling, they shared how the teen celebrated the court win.
"Last night, she was so happy and we were just like [sings], 'Say my name, say my name,' 'cause to some people it just feels like paperwork but to her it's her truth and it's her reality and we support that," Union said. "Being in her orbit, you wanna catch up, you wanna keep up."
Union and Wade share 4-year-old daughter, Kaavia James. Wade is also father to 21-year-old son, Zaire, Zaya and 8-year-old son, Xavier.
Prior to the judge granting Zaya's request, Wade had said in June 2022 at the TIME 100 summit that he fears for Zaya's safety every moment she leaves the house.
"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," Dwyane told CNN at the time. "And not just because of gun violence, but because of the way people perceive her in this world."
RELATED CONTENT:
