Dwyane Wade tells all on why he and his family, including his daughter, moved out of Florida, and Gov. Ron DeSantis and anti-LGBTQ laws are the main reason.
State lawmakers, including potential presidential candidate Gov. DeSantis, have the Wade family, including 15-year-old Zaya Wade, who came out as transgender in 2020, worried about their future in the Sunshine State, The Hill reported.
“A lot of people don’t know that. I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions,” Dwyane told Rachel Nichols in a sit-down interview on Showtime’s “Headliners”, which aired on April 27.
“I mean, obviously, the tax [situation] 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,” Dwyane told Nichols.
Dwyane channels his father’s parenting to inspire him to be “a mirror image of the way he 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,” The Hill reported.
“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,” Dwyane 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.”
There is a wave of anti-LGBTQ policies being pushed in Florida as LGBTQ members and allies like the Walt Disney Corps. seek better representation in education and entertainment.
One of those laws being pushed is the Parental Rights in Education Act, better known by the Democratic opposition as “Don’t Say Gay,” which prohibits public school teachers from teaching students in kindergarten through third grade about sexual orientation and gender identity.
The original, until the third grade, the law got approved by the Florida Board of Education on April 19 to extend restrictions on such instruction through high school.
Dwyane, famous for his Miami Heat career, is retired from the NBA in 2019 after a 16-year career. He has been spending time with his family, traveling, and working on various business ventures. He is also involved in a number of charitable causes.
Dwyane is still very active in the NBA community as he is a part-owner of the Utah Jazz, and he is also a special advisor to the Miami Heat.
He is also a regular on NBA TV, where he provides commentary on games.
Since Zaya’s transition, Dwyane has been a vocal supporter of her ever since. He has spoken out against anti-transgender discrimination and has used his platform to raise awareness of transgender issues. Dwyane has also been praised for his parenting, and he has been credited with helping Zaya to feel comfortable and accepted in her identity.
Zaya, who is still a teenager, and she is still figuring out who she is.
