Dwyane Wade Had To Re-Evaluate His ‘Cool Dad’ Status After Seeing How Scared Daughter Zaya Was To Come Out To Him: ‘I Had To Go Look At Myself In The Mirror’

Dwyane Wade, Zaya Wade

Dwyane Wade Had To Re-Evaluate His ‘Cool Dad’ Status After Seeing How Scared Daughter Zaya Was To Come Out To Him: ‘I Had To Go Look At Myself In The Mirror’

It looks like Dwyane Wade had to do some self-reflecting when it came to his daughter Zaya Wade.

During a recent interview, Dwyane Wade recalled having to re-evaluate his “cool dad” status after seeing just how scared Zaya Wade was to come out to him as transgender.

Although Zaya already came out as gay years prior, she was seemingly afraid to tell her father she was trans.

Wade explained,

‘I came home and I just remember my daughter — my child — being scared to talk me, like hiding in my wife’s arm in the chair. I think I’m just the dad that’s like, ‘Hey, come and tell me anything. I’m a cool dad.”‘

This then caused the former NBA star to re-examine himself.

“Because maybe I ain’t what I think I am. I haven’t done what I think. That first moment of seeing that — and I was having a conversation yesterday talking about this — I had to go look at myself in the mirror and ask why was my child scared to tell me something about herself.”

Zaya Wade, Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade said there “was so much that I didn’t know about my child, and so much education that needed to happen.”

He also described how important it was to have open communication between himself and Zaya, especially with her doing research and learning more about what she was going through.

However, Wade admitted that the hardest part was dealing with other people’s opinions.

“I think the hardest part about it is shutting out the world and shutting out the people that really are not in the circle, but that have opinions.”

Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union have been extremely supportive of Zaya Wade and her transition. Back in February, they both accepted the prestigious President’s Award for their support of the LGBTQ+ community at the 54th Annual NAACP Awards.

In a heartfelt speech, Wade addressed his daughter and applauded her for handling the criticism so well.

“Zaya, as your father, all I’ve wanted to do is get it right. I have sat back and watched how graceful you have taken on the public scrutiny and even though it’s not easy, I watched you walk out of the house every morning as yourself.”

Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, Zaya Wade, Zaire Wade

He continued,

“‘I admire how you have handled the ignorance in our world. I admire that you face it every day. To say that your village is proud of you is an understatement.”

As previously reported, Dwyane Wade submitted documents to have the 16-year-old — formerly named Zion — legally recognized as a female with a new name back in August of 2022. Months later, a judge granted the petition allowing Zaya to be acknowledged as she chooses. The teen is now legally recognized as female and her name was changed from Zion Malachi Airamis Wade to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade.

Wade first revealed that Zaya was transgender to the public in February 2020.

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