Dwyane Wade takes much pride in being a dad. The father of four is never shy about publicly defending and protecting his cubs. When it comes to daughter, Zaya Wade, the 3-time NBA Champion pulls all the stops to make sure she feels safe and secure as she navigates her gender journey.
Last month, Wade filed a court motion to legally change 15-year old Zaya’s gender and name from Zion Malachi Airamis Wade to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade. The Miami Heat legend filed court docs, stating that he has “full authority” to file the petition without the consent of Zaya’s mother, Siohvaughn Funches. The courts however did send Funches a courtesy notice of Wade’s petition.
The 15-year old recent made headlines after showing off her new long, flowing tresses in a Tiffany & Co. campaign. She shared the stunning pics to her Instagram story, writing, “Dreams become reality.” While both celebs and fans gushed over the photo on social media, many noticed that some of the comments under Zaya's pic had been blocked. After one fan questioned the Wade family’s decision to limit her comment section, D. Wade hopped on to Twitter to explain.
“For Zaya’s mental health and privacy we’ve decided not to allow the hate into her comments, “ he tweeted. The NBA legend added, “Thank you for wanting to spread and send her love.” The heartwarming tweet comes just days after the 40-year old dad gushed over his daughter’s model-esque Tiffany & Co. photos by flooding the comment section with heart-eye emojis.
Wade also shared back in June that he fears for his daughter’s life, sharing at a summit, “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. And not just because of gun violence, but because of the way people perceive her in this world.”
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