Dwyane Wade's harsh confession: "I'm scared every time he leaves the house"
The NBA legend announced in February 2020 that his son, who was born Zion, identified as transgender, changing his name to Zaya.
It is likely that most are very familiar with the sports career of Dwyane Wade (40), one of the best players the NBA has produced in recent decades and who during his career won three championship rings. But perhaps some episodes of his personal life have gone unnoticed by the general public.
The former Miami Heat player, who had a testimonial stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Bulls, has been married to actress and singer Gabrielle Union since 2014 and is the father of four children. In February 2020, Wade announced that one of his children from his previous marriage to Siohvaughn Funches, who was born Zion, identified as transgender and changed her name to Zaya.
A situation that was assumed completely naturally within the family, but that keeps Wade mired in enormous concern as a father. The former player recently participated in the 'Time 100 Summit' event held in New York and organized by the prestigious magazine in which he shared his pride in his daughter but also his main fears.
"Come live one day in my world with my daughter, come see what it's like to walk through this world as she does," Wade pointed out in reference to the laws that are being enacted in some North American states aimed at curtailing the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community.
“I think we are losing our human side, and as blessed as my daughter is to have supportive parents, I am still scared every time she leaves the house. And not just because of gun violence, but because of the way people perceive it in this world," Wade admitted.
And it is that for the NBA legend there are many things that do not make sense. “We are in a world in which we have at our fingertips all kinds of information about life. Our children can find everything they want, but then you can't talk about certain things at school ”, reflected Wade in relation to the law that will come into force in Florida, popularly baptized as 'Don't say gay', which prohibits teachers discuss gender identity and sexual orientation between preschool and third grade.
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Why don't we talk about it? Why don't we educate our children? Why don't we educate ourselves, instead of trying to avoid talking about it? You can't help but talk about what someone wants and how you feel. We are not going to avoid talking about someone who is gay, bisexual, or transsexual, we cannot avoid it, and personally, I do not understand that it is done ”, settled Wade.
He already outlined his feelings in statements made in December 2019 about how to deal with situations like the one he has had to assume as a father. “I grew up with certain prejudices like many other people, but I had to look in the mirror and say: 'What if your son or daughter comes home and tells you that they are gay or lesbian? What are you going to do? How are you going to be? How are you going to act? It's not about him or her. They know who they are. It's about you. Who are you? ”.
