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Former NBA star Dwyane Wade responded to his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches-Wade's recent petition to a court that requested their daughter, who is transgender, "be given the opportunity at the age of majority" to make permanent changes to her identity.
"Since this must be the new way of parenting, I guess I have to address these allegations here, which is a damn shame," Wade said in a statement posted on his Instagram account.
"While I'm on a life-changing trip in our motherland, Africa, I've received a social media post about me forcing our 15-year-old child to be someone she's not and to do something against her will. These are serious and harmful allegations that have hurt our children."
Wade was married to Funches-Wade from 2002 to 2010. Their daughter, Zaya, came out as transgender at the age of 12 in 2020. The two also share a 20-year-old son, Zaire, while Wade is father to a son with another former partner and has a young daughter with his current wife, Gabrielle Union-Wade.
According to legal documents first obtained by The Blast, Funches-Wade submitted an objection to a Los Angeles County court requesting Zaya wait two-and-a-half years before making identity changes. Funches-Wade alleged her ex-husband is "positioned to profit from the minor child's name and gender change" with companies such as Disney.
"While none of us are surprised by Siohvaughn's attempt to fight Zaya's identity and her unwavering attempt to drag my name through the mud, I'm very disappointed that she continuously finds ways of centering herself and HER needs, without regard to her children," Wade wrote, adding: "Siohvaughn has decided to be pretty much an absent parent to Zaya ALL ON HER OWN."
"I will not sit on my hands and allow her to make a mockery of my dedication to my family. The high road has run out of real estate. My lawyer will be in contact and best of luck to the 14th lawyer as they try to unravel this book of lies that's been sold to them," he wrote.
In August, Wade filed a court petition to legally change Zaya's name and gender. The filing claimed Wade had the full authority to make decisions on Zaya's behalf without requiring consent from Funches-Wade.
In a 2020 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Wade discussed Zaya's decision to use she/her pronouns.
"We're just trying to figure out as much information as we can to make sure that we give our child the best opportunity to be her best self," Wade told host Ellen DeGeneres.
Newsweek reached out to Siohvaughn Funches-Wade's attorney and Dwyane Wade for comment.
Update 11/03/22 10:40 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to include more background information.
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Jon Jackson is a News Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more