Dwyane Wade Opens Up About Leaving Florida Over State's Anti-LGBTQ Policies: 'My Family Would Not Be Accepted'

perezhilton.com:

Dwyane Wade is opening up about his decision to flee Florida. The former Miami Heat shooting guard sat down with Rachel Nichols for Thursday’s episode of Headliners, where he got candid about moving out of the Sunshine State for reasons beyond his own well-being: The Wade family moved to California in 2019, when he left the NBA.

One year later, his 15-year-old daughter Zaya came out as transgender in 2020, and in the wake of Florida’s expanding Don’t Say Gay policies, which currently restrict classrooms from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity, the father of four just feels like his family is no longer “accepted.” Related: SNL SLAMS Anti-Trans Republican Lawmakers! While he said he’ll miss the tax benefits of residing in the state, his family’s comfort is more valuable: He’s really doing the work to prioritize his family, and to show other parents out there what unconditional love and protecting your children looks like.

Later in the interview, the basketball star opened up about how his own father’s love inspired him as a parent, sharing: Discussing his own family’s dynamic, he continued: What an amazing father! Related: Keke Palmer Opens Up About Sexuality & Gender Identity Altogether, Dwyane shares Zaya and his 21-year-old son Zaire with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches, 9-year-old son Xavier with ex Aja Metoyer, and 4-year-old daughter Kaavia with wife Gabrielle Union.

Wade and Funches were recently wrapped up in a legal battle over Zaya’s transition, but the teen was finally granted a legal name and gender change in February.