In a Friday ruling filed in Los Angeles’ Superior Court, former professional basketball star Dwyane Wade‘s 15-year-old transgender child was reportedly granted an official name and gender changes, according to court documents.
Wade’s child, a biological male, is now legally recognized as a female. The teen’s name has legally been changed from Zion Malachi Airamis Wade to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade. The child is from his marriage with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches, whom he divorced in 2010.
In August 2022, Wade had filed a petition for the teen to legally make a name change and gender transition. The mother objected to the petition and sued Wade, asking the court to not allow the child to make a transition until 18 years old.
“I contend that our child should be given the opportunity to decide for themselves at the age of majority if they want to move forward with changing their name and/or gender,” the child’s mother said in court documents.
DWYANE WADE RESPONDS TO EX-WIFE’S ‘SERIOUS AND HARMFUL ALLEGATIONS’ ABOUT DAUGHTER
In previous court documents, Funches alleged that she believed Wade “may be pressuring our child to move forward with the name and gender change in order to capitalize on the financial opportunities that he has received from companies.”
She alleges that she had a conversation with Wade in April and he claimed that “a lot of money” has “already been made” and that “additional money will be made in relation to our child’s name and gender issue.”
“These are serious and harmful allegations that have hurt our children,” Wade responded to her claims on Instagram in November.
Following Friday’s court decision, Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union, accepted the President’s Award for their support of the LGBT community at Saturday’s taping of the NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, California.
“Zaya, as your father, all I’ve wanted to do is get it right. I’ve sat back and watched how gracefully you’ve taken on the public scrutiny,” Wade said at the ceremony. “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 ignorance in our world. I admire it that you face every day. To say that your village is proud of you is an understatement.”
“My role is to be a facilitator to your hopes, your wishes, your dreams,” Wade said.
“Thank you for showing the world what courage looks like. I’m proud that I was chosen to stand in place as your father. And thank you so much to the NAACP for this incredible honor,” added Wade.
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Union, an actress and the teen’s stepmother, called the transgender child’s transition, “a beautiful journey.”
“We honestly don’t approach this work as activists or leaders as much as we do this as parents,” Union said. “Parents who love our children, and will do whatever the hell we can to keep them seen and secure and safe.”
