Dwyane Wade Praises His 12-Year-Old For Coming Out As LGBTQ+

NBA star Dwyane Wade is proud to have watched his 12-year-old, Zion, “become into who she now eventually came into.”

“First of all, if you want to talk about strength and courage, my 12-year-old has way more than I have,” Wade, 37, said on the “All the Smoke” podcast on Thursday. “You can learn something from your kids.”

Zion, who recently came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, is one of two children from Wade’s first marriage to Siohvaughn Funches, and lives with the former Miami Heat player and his current wife, actress Gabrielle Union. Wade is also father to 17-year-old Zaire, 6-year-old Xavier and 13-month-old Kaavia.

Since Wade and Union, 47, both have such public platforms, the NBA star said he and his wife have created a home environment, in which “our kids understand the power in their voice.”

Wade said he makes sure their children understand that with that responsibility comes the opportunity for a lot of scrutiny.

“There’s going to be a lot of negativity, there’s going to be a lot of hate, and it’s not even just for my son’s sexuality, it’s just about being a young, black man or young, black woman,” he said on the podcast.

Zion was criticized earlier this month after Union shared a photo of their family on Thanksgiving that showed the pre-teen wearing acrylic nails.

At the time, Wade tweeted in response, “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!”

The former basketball player told hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that he didn’t respond because someone “hurt his feelings,” but rather “because I understand my platform.”

He continued, “I understand that I’m speaking for a lot of people that don’t have the same voice that I have as a father. I’m even speaking for my 12-year-old, right now, because I haven’t allowed [Zion] to sit in front of a microphone yet, but I’m speaking for so many others in the LGBTQ plus community. It’s just my version of support.”

Wade explained that he has learned to become supportive ever since he noticed his son may be LGBTQ at as early as 3 years old.

“Me and my wife started having conversations about us noticing that he wasn’t on the boy vibe as [my other son] Zaire was on,” he said. “I had to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘What if your son comes home and says he’s gay? What are you going to do? How are you going to be? How are you act? It ain’t about him. He knows who he is.'”

Wade advised the critics, “Look at yourself and understand that you’re the one who’s got the issues.”

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