Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Instagram/zayawade
Topics: Australia, NBA, Basketball, US Sports
Max Sherry
Topics: Australia, NBA, Basketball, US Sports
Dwyane Wade’s ex-wife has accused him of 'pressuring' their trans daughter to change her gender for financial gain.
Back in 2020, the NBA legend's 12-year-old child came out as a transgender and subsequently changed her name to Zaya.
When the news broke, the Wade family received widespread praise for supporting their child and driving inclusivity.
Now, two years on, D-Wade's ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches-Wade claims her former partner pushed for his daughter to come out as trans purely to make money.
Funches-Wade, who divorced Wade in 2010, insists the three-time NBA champion told her that “a lot of money had been already made” from Zaya’s “name and gender issue”.
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“[Wade] told me that he intended to make our child very famous due to the name and gender issue and also informed me that there would be endorsements/contracts associated therewith,” she alleges.
In court documents obtained by Page Six, the author says Wade “is positioned to profit from the minor child’s name and gender change with various companies through contacts and marketing opportunities including but not limited to deals with Disney.”
She adds: “I have concerns that [Wade] may be pressuring our child to move forward with the name and gender change in order to capitalise on the financial opportunities that he has received from companies.”
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Funches-Wade then uses her trans daughter’s old name, as opposed to 'Zaya'.
“Zion, who was present at the time, answered that various companies were interested and that Disney was a prospective company.”
Wade’s ex-wife goes on to point out that “there will likely be media pressure on the minor child”.
The Miami Heat icon first spoke about his daughter's transition on the Ellen De Generes Show in February 2020.
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A few years on, he revealed that he holds grave fears for her safety every time she steps foot out of the family home.
"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," Wade told the TIME100 Summit.
"And not just because of gun violence, but because of the way people perceive her in this world."
While appearing on the panel, Wade was also asked about his thoughts on the various anti-trans laws popping across different states in America.
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"To me, it's a joke. This is our life. We live this," he said.
"When you're out there making rules, if you're not experiencing this, if you're not living this and you're just out there signing away making laws then that's not right. That's a joke.
"Come and live a day in my world with my daughter. Come and see how it is to walk through this world as her.
"We are losing the human side of us."