Dwyane Wade remembers the day his eldest daughter Zaya Wade came out to him as transgender and the fear he witnessed upon her face.
The retired NBA star recalled the moment in a June 27 talk at the Creative Artists Agency Amplify event in Ojai, Calif., telling fellow NBA star Chris Paul and manager Lisa Metelus that he'd prepared for Zaya to come out because she'd previously described herself as gay on a school assignment when she was 8 years old.
"So I came home and I just remember my child being scared to talk to me, like hiding in my wife's arm in a chair," Wade, who is married to Gabrielle Union, said, per Today. "And it was fear in my child's face to tell me and so I had to check myself. I had to go look myself in the mirror and ask myself: 'Why was my child scared? Scared to tell me something about herself?'"
He continued, "In a lot of work as parents — and as people — what we do is we put our fears and everything on our kids. And I guess I was doing that," he said. "So I had to go look myself in the mirror and ask myself... What is it about my masculinity that has my child afraid?"
Dwyane revealed Zaya's gender identity on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2020, saying she told him and Gabrielle she was ready to live her truth. This past 2023, a court approved a petition from the basketball star, made on his 16-year-old daughter's behalf, to legally change her name and gender.
Months before coming out, on Thanksgiving 2019, Zaya and her family were trolled over the acrylic nails and crop top she wore in a family photo that Gabrielle shared on Instagram.
At the time, Dwyane fired back, writing, "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!"
During Dwyane's recent conversation, he recalled how "the world went crazy" over the pic and the steps he took to protect and support his daughter.
"I became all kinds of things," he said, "because I support my child and being who she is."
He joked, "I've become gay," adding that he was wearing pink nail polish.
Dwyane continued, "I think the hardest part about it is shutting out the world and shutting out the people that really are not in (our) circle. But they have opinions and we are public-facing family."
Zaya herself has spoken about her family's support. In a March cover interview with British style publication Dazed, she said she feels most empowered "when my family surrounds me."
"They are such a giant support system and have always been there for me," she noted. "No matter what happens, I feel strongest when I'm with them."