Retired basketball star Dwyane Wade has reportedly filed court papers asking that his transgender daughter be allowed to legally change her name.
The former NBA player has publicly supported his now 15-year-old child during her transition.
Now, a report in the US publication TODAY, states that Wade, 40, filed a petition in the Los Angeles Superior Court last week asking that his child, Zion Malachi Airamis Wade, be formally known as Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade.
READ MORE: Mum’s plea for help after daughter’s heartbreaking confession
The documents stated that Wade had full authority to make the decision but had notified the child’s mother, Siohvaughn Funches, “as a courtesy.”
Wade has publicly supported his daughter as she transitioned for a number of years, and has also taken to his social media to condemn trolls. During a guest appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2020, he talked about how his then 12-year-old Zion came home and asked to talk to him and his second wife, actress Gabrielle Union.
He recalled she said, “Hey, I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward I’m ready to live my truth and I want to be referred to as she and her and I would love for you guys to call me Zaya. “
He said they were “trying to figure out as much information as we can to make sure that we give our child the best opportunity to be her best self.”
READ MORE: The paralyzed Aussie athlete inspired millions of kids
Wade has also been a vocal opponent of recent changes to laws in some states of the US, revealing that it made him afraid of Zaya’s safety.
During a 2020 interview on Showtime’s podcast All the Smoke, he said he had long noticed Zion was different from his older son Zaire and had to learn to overcome his own prejudices.
“I had to look myself in the mirror when my son at the time was three years old. And me and my wife are having conversations about [noticing] he wasn’t on the boy vibe that Zaire was on,” he said.
“I had to say, ‘What if your son come home and tell you he’s gay? What are you going to do? How are you going to be? How are you going to act?'”
He credited Union, whom he married in August 2014, for helping him see the world through a different lens. They share a daughter, Kaavia, now 3. He is also the father of Xavier, 8, with former girlfriend Aja Metoyer.
His eldest son Zaire, 20, whom he also shares with Funches, is now a pro basketball player.
But Wade admitted that the road had not always been easy. When Union shared an Instagram photo almost three years ago to mark Thanksgiving, in which Zaya was sporting a crop top and long nails, trolls pounced.
It led Wade to respond on Twitter, writing, “I’ve seen some post-Thanksgiving hate on social about my family photo. Stupidity is apart of this world we live in — so I get it. But here’s the thing — I’ve been chosen to lead my family not y’all. So we will continue to be us and support each other with pride, love & a smile!”
Wade told TODAY at the 2022 Time 100 Gala and Summit in June that parents had to understand their kids’ lives were “not just about us.”
“We didn’t have them to be a mini version of us. They’re going to become who they are in this world, and it’s our job to find that out,” he said.
“We don’t have to understand everything as parents, but if we lead with love and then we go and find the information, we go out and make sure that our kids have a life that we worked hard for.”
He used his red carpet appearance at the gala to send a message to transgender youth and those facing discrimination due to their sexuality. “I want to tell them I love them,” he said. “I’m proud of them. Continue to be who you are. Don’t let anybody tell you who you are.”
Zaya Wade has her own Instagram page where she shares her love of fashion with her 550,000 followers.
For a daily dose of 9Honey, subscribe to our newsletter here
Celebrities who love being ‘girl dads’