Basketball star Dwyane Wade will do whatever it takes to support his transgender daughter, even if it means moving to a different state.
In recent months, a surge of bills have been proposed to state legislatures that attempt to restrict gender affirming care to transgender citizens, especially in relation to transgender children. In April, the state of Florida proposed a bill, HB 1421, designed to prohibit Medicare from covering gender-affirming care for transgender youth or adults. Another bill referred to as Senate Bill 254 would also allow the State to remove transgender children from the custody of their parents if suspected to be receiving gender affirming care.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, Senate Bill 254, “allows the state to remove trans children from their parents if they are receiving transition care by purporting to give Florida family courts jurisdiction to set aside another state’s custody determination for a young person if their parents have authorized or might authorize best practice, age-appropriate gender-affirming health care.”
On top of this, the state was widely known for the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a legislation signed by the governor in order to prevent schools from learning about sexual orientation or gender identity.
Considering the 15 seasons he spent with the Miami Heat, it is no surprise Wade would consider Florida a second home. However, when he sat down for an interview with Rachel Nichols for her show ‘Headliners’, he made it clear that his children come before any state.
The basketball Hall of Famer is the father of a 15-year-old transgender girl Zaya, who came out as trans in 2020. Since then, Wade has outwardly supported his daughter’s transition, helping her legally change her name and gender and encouraging her to express herself through fashion.
Dwyane Wade says he ‘has to make decisions for my family’ after leaving Florida
With the risk of anti-transgender legislation running rampant through the Sunshine State, the father did not want to risk his child’s safety.
“That’s another reason why I don’t live in [Florida]. A lot of people don’t know that,” he revealed to Nichols when she asked about his thoughts on government attempts to restrict transgender care. “I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions.”
“You know, obviously, the taxes is great. Having Wade County is great. But my family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there,” Wade continued, further explaining his thoughts on the state. “And, so that’s one of the reasons why I don’t live there.”
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