NBA icon Dwyane Wade recalls having to reexamine his “cool dad” status after seeing his daughter Zaya’s fear of coming out as transgender to him.
Speaking at the CAA Amplify Summit event in Ojai, California on Tuesday, Wade, 41, spoke about his daughter’s transition and her coming out, revealing that he had long suspected she was a member of the LGBTQ+ community before she officially came out, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
When she was only eight, Zaya revealed she was gay in a school assignment Buzzfeed news.
Several years later, Zaya came out as transgender to her family, but Wade was saddened to see how scared she was to talk to him.
“I came home and I just remember my daughter – my child – was afraid to talk to me, like she was hiding in my wife’s arm in the chair,” he said. “I guess I’m just the dad who says, ‘Hey, come and tell me everything. I’m a cool dad.'”
‘I had to start looking at myself in the mirror’: NBA icon Dwyane Wade recalls having to reexamine his ‘cool dad’ status after seeing how scared his daughter Zaya was about coming out to him
However, the fear expressed by Zaya prompted Wade to reexamine himself.
‘Cause maybe I’m not what I think I am. I didn’t do what I think,’ he said. “That first moment I saw that – and I had a conversation about this yesterday – I had to go look at myself in the mirror and ask why my child was afraid to tell me about himself.”
Wade realized how much he had to learn while navigating social media with Zaya during her transition and coming out.
The former Miami Heat player said there was “so much I didn’t know about my kid, and so much education that needed to be done.”
He also described how integral communication was between him and his daughter, with Zaya amassing a wealth of information about what she did through research.
Wade, in turn, says it made him a better listener as he followed his daughter’s lead on her identity.
“I think the hardest thing about it is shutting out the world and shutting out the people who really aren’t in the circle, but have an opinion,” he said.
Family: Wade with wife Gabrielle Union and daughters Zaya and Kaavia
The star’s revelation comes after Wade moved his family from Florida due to the state’s anti-LGBTQ policies.
During an interview with journalist, host and NBA reporter Rachel Nichols about her show Main featuresWade explained why he decided to leave the state he called home despite being a celebrated figure.
“You know, of course taxes are great. Having Wade County is great. But my family would not be accepted or comfortable there. And so that’s one of the reasons why I don’t live there,” he said.
‘A lot of people don’t know that. I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions.”
Wade and Union received the prestigious President’s Award for their support of the LGBTQ+ community at the 54th Annual NAACP Awards in February.
Rising star! Zaya is now a model and made her runway debut for Miu Miu at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year
In a powerful speech, the former basketball player addressed his daughter from the podium, praising her for dealing with the “ignorance in our world.”
“Zaya,” he began, “as your father, I just wanted to do well. I’ve sat back and watched how gracefully you’ve taken public criticism, and though it’s not easy, every morning I watched you walk out of the house looking like yourself.’
The proud father continued, “I admire how you have dealt with the ignorance in our world. I admire that you face it every day. To say your village is proud of you is an understatement.’
Concluding his remarks, the 13-time NBA All-Star said, “Zaya, you made me a better person simply by being who you were born to be. Our little girl, Zaya Wade. Thank you for showing the world what courage looks like. I am proud to have been chosen to stand in my place as your father. Thank you so much to the NAACP for this incredible honor.”
In August, Wade filed a petition to allow Zaya to legally change her gender and name from Zion Malachi Airamis Wade to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade. Zaya has been called Zaya for two years.
Zaya’s biological mother Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, who was married to Dwyane from 2002 to 2007, previously said in court filings that she believed Wade “could pressure our child to go ahead with the name and gender change to take advantage of the financial opportunities. that he has received from companies.’
Taking a stand: The star’s reveal comes after Wade moved his family from Florida over the state’s anti-LGBTQ policies
In her defiance, she said she wants Zaya to wait until she is 18 before changing her name and claims that Wade pushed for the name change for the company.
“I am concerned that (Dwyane) is pressuring our child to go ahead with the name and gender change to take advantage of the financial opportunities he has been given by companies,” she said in her legal filing.
She also cited a conversation from April in which she claims Dwyane told her “a lot of money had already been made and more money will be made regarding the name and sex of our child.”
“(Dwyane) told me he planned to make our kid very famous because of the name and gender and also told me there would be endorsements/contracts involved,” she claimed.
Wade hit back at his ex on Instagram at the time, decrying her claims that he is exploiting their daughter, accusing her of “hurting their children” with her lawsuit, and reminding the world of their bitter 2011 divorce battle, which led to he was awarded sole custody of both of their children.
In February, Funches-Wade’s petition was rejected and Zaya was allowed to change her name and gender.
Since Zaya came out to her family – and then to the world – she has had Wade’s full support. Not only did he lovingly accept his daughter’s sexual identity, but he – along with Union – went on a journey to learn as much as he could about the LGBTQ+ community.
Wade first revealed Zaya was transgender to the public in February 2020; since then she has launched a major career for herself as a model and has become a budding social media star – with over 603,000 followers on her Instagram account.
Wade explained that Zaya later told him and Union that she had known she had been transgender since she was three years old, but that it took years of “research” before she could express it to her loved ones.