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While Dwyane Wade is extremely supportive of his daughter Zaya, 15, the former NBA star knows that he won’t always be able to protect his offspring — especially when she leaves the house by herself. As fans may be aware, Zaya, who was assigned male at birth with the name Zion, came out as transgender back in February 2020, sparking a mixed reaction from social media, with some saying she was too young to decide whether she wanted to change her identity.During the Time 100 Summit in New York City this week, Dwyane touched on his relationship with his daughter, admitting that while she is very much supported and protected by her loved ones, there will be times when he won’t be by her side — a concern which appears to worry the ex-athlete profusely.
“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 said. “And not just because of gun violence, but because of the way people perceive her in this world.” The discussion went on with Dwyane addressing certain states, such as Louisiana, which are controversially enacting trans sports bans, a decision which he has deemed “a joke.”
“This is our life. We live this, so when you’re out there making rules and if you’re not experiencing this, if you’re not living this, that’s a joke,” he added. “Come live a day in my world with my daughter, come and see how it is to walk through this world as her.”
“I just think we’re losing our… we’re losing the human side of us, 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.”
The ex-Miami Heat basketball star further condemned the recent legislation of a controversial bill in Florida, infamously dubbed “Don’t Say Gay,” signed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in February, which prohibits schools from talking about gender and sexuality with children under the age of nine. The bill subsequently bans teachers in Florida from talking about LGBTQ+ issues that aren’t deemed “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”
A colossal protest erupted following the news, with dozens of celebrities speaking out in disgust about the decision to prevent kids from learning about LGBTQ+ history in their classrooms.
Speaking about the issue at the summit, Dwyane expressed, “It doesn’t make sense to me, right? We’re in this world right now where it’s like, hey, we get information, we’re learning information, we can find everything we want to know about life, right? Our kids can find out these things but then it’s like, hey, don’t talk about this in school, don’t do this in school.”
