Dwayne Wade leaves Florida to stand with trans daughter
"We would not be accepted or welcome here"
Dwayne Wade is kind of a big deal in Miami. So big a deal, in fact, that Miami-Dade County is often referred to as “Wade County” thanks not only to his three championships with the Miami Heat, but also to the embrace of his community and for all the work he’s done in Wade County. In 2003, he founded The Wade's World Foundation, which provides support to community-based organizations that promote education, health, and social skills for children in at-risk situations.
But Dwayne Wade has a 15 year old transgender daughter named Zaya, who came out in 2020, and he says he’s had enough of the wave of anti-transgender legislation in his former home state.
During an interview on Showtime’s “Headliners,” Wade explained to host Rachel Nichols that the reason he doesn’t live in Florida anymore is because of the push from state lawmakers to implement anti-LGBTQ laws in the state.
“A lot of people don’t know that. I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions,” Wade told Nichols during the sit-down interview, which is set to air Thursday.
“I mean, obviously, the tax [situation] is great. Having Wade County is great. But my family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there. And so that’s one of the reasons why I don’t live there,” Wade told Nichols.
Wade’s comments come as he, along with his wife, actress Gabrielle Union-Wade, called for increased visibility and advocacy to protect the rights and lives of Black transgender people during their President’s Award acceptance speech at the annual NAACP Image Awards earlier this year.
“Even as we demand equality at the top of our lungs, we consistently fail to extend our advocacy to protect some of our most vulnerable among us,” the couple said during their speech. “Black trans people are being targeted, terrorized and hunted in this country. Everyday. Everywhere.”
Dwayne and his family now live in much friendlier Los Angeles.
