Dwyane Wade Left FL Over State’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies: Reports

FLORIDA — Retired Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade said his family left Florida because of the state’s recent slate of anti-LGBTQ+ policies and legislation, according to multiple reports.

The basketball star’s 15-year-old daughter, Zaya, came out as transgender in 2020.

Wade discussed his concerns about his family’s safety and acceptance in the Sunshine State in an episode of Showtime’s “Headliners,” which will air Thursday night, according to People.

Florida’s politics are “another reason why I don’t live in that state,” Wade told host Rachel Nichols. “A lot of people don't know that. I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions.”

He added, "I mean, obviously, the tax (situation in Florida) is great. Having Wade County is great. But my family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there. And so that's one of the reasons why I don't live there."

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Family is important to the athlete, who tries to emulate his father’s parenting approach, The Hill reported. Wade said he tries to be “a mirror image of the way (his own father) loved us and the way that he accepted not only myself and my brothers, but other kids in the community that didn’t have father figures.”

“And so, I don’t know any difference. And so yes, I had to educate myself and yes, I had to get a better understanding,” he said. “And yes, I had to lose some friends along the process, but I never wavered on loving my kids and trying to find space to get the chance to understand them.”

Florida has seen a wave of legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ communities in recent years. Last year, the state legislature passed the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which limits how gender and sexual orientation can be discussed in public schools through the third grade. Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded the law to all grade levels, including high school.

Other recent bills crack down on children attending drag shows and gender-affirming treatment for transgender minors and would prevent transgender men and women from using bathrooms that don’t align with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Wade and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, have been outspoken supporters not only of their daughter, but also of the LGBTQ+ community in general.

During the 2023 NAACP Image Awards in February, when they were honored with the President’s Award, the couple used their time on stage accepting the award to speak out against injustices against the LGBTQ community, according to Today.

“It’s humbling to stand here surrounded by friends and heroes, OGs and icons, all working to advance the lives of Black people and pay respect to an organization that had led us through over a century of relentless challenge, pain, triumph, and change,” Union said. “And now stands with us again at the foot of a very new era of activism, a new era that demands our collective answer to one simple question: Will we fight for some, or will we fight for all of our people?”

The actress called for equality for the “most vulnerable among us” and called out the treatment of Black transgender people.

“Black trans people are being targeted, terrorized, and hunted in this country every day, everywhere, and there’s rarely a whisper about it,” she said.

Wade used his time to speak about his daughter, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches.

“I want to take this moment to publicly speak to our daughter Zaya,” he said. “Zaya, as your father, all I’ve wanted to do was get it right. I’ve sat back and watched how gracefully you’ve taken on the public scrutiny. And even though it’s not easy, I watched you walk out of that house every morning as yourself. I admire how you’ve handled the ignorance in our world.”