NBA All-Star and father of four Dwyane Wade has moved forward with changing his transgender daughter’s name and gender in the state of California.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, the baller has filed for his 15-year-old daughter, who was born male, to be legally identified as a girl and her name be officially Zaya.
Dwyane Wade noted he “has full authority” to decide on behalf of the “petitioning minor” and stated the change was so that Zaya could finally “conform with [her] gender identity.”
Per her parents’ custody agreement, Zaya’s mom, Siohvaughn Funches, does not have to grant permission to Wade for the change.
The petition reads, “Pursuant to the terms of the Final Custody Judgment, (Wade) has full authority to make decisions on behalf of the petitioning minor, and he is not required to receive consent from Ms. Funches-Wade. As a courtesy, Ms. Funches-Wade has received notice of this petition.”
As reported by AllHipHop.com, Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union have supported their daughter’s decision for years, publicly sharing their choice to stand by the young person on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
“We are proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community and we’re proud allies as well,” he said to the comedian. “We take our roles and responsibilities as parents very seriously.”
Wade continued, “So when our child comes home with a question when our child comes home with an issue when our child comes home with anything, it’s our job as parents to listen to that to give them the best information that we can, the best feedback that we can, and that doesn’t change now.”
The child also asked to be referred to with feminine pronouns (she/her) and said to her parents, “I would love for you guys to call me Zaya.