Dwyane Wade slams ex-wife Siohvaughn’s ‘damaging lies’ about trans daughter Zaya
Dwyane Wade is exposing his ex-wife’s “damaging lies” after she accused him of profiting off their transgender daughter, Zaya.
The retired NBA player addressed Siohvaughn Funches-Wade’s bombshell court filing in a lengthy Instagram statement Thursday, saying he is not “surprised” by her “attempt to fight Zaya’s identity” and “drag [his] 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, 40, wrote.
“I’ve given her the opportunity to reach out to Zaya’s teachers, doctors and therapist over the years and even meet her friends, so she could get her own understanding of our child’s needs for her LIFE!” he continued.
“She won’t do it!” the former Miami Heat player alleged, calling Funches-Wade, 41, an “absent parent” who claims to be a “good Christian mother” but has not attended a single “recital, graduation, school dance, play date, practice, parent teacher conference etc.”
Wade insisted he and his current wife, Gabrielle Union, would never “force Zaya or any of [their] children to do anything against their will, much less force an identity on them,” noting that he will not “sit on [his] hands” amid Funches-Wade’s accusations.
“The high road has run out of real estate,” he concluded. “My lawyer will be in contact.”
Funches-Wade, who was married to the Olympian from 2002 to 2010, made headlines Wednesday for objecting to her ex-husband’s August petition to legally change Zaya’s name and gender.
In court documents obtained by Page Six, the author alleged, “I have concerns that [Wade] may be pressuring our child to move forward … in order to capitalize on the financial opportunities that he has received from companies.”
Funches-Wade went to court two years after Zaya came out as trans. The teenager has since been showing off her style by modeling for campaigns and attending Fashion Week events.
Wade praised his daughter in his Instagram post, writing that she has “a 4.0 GPA in honors classes.”
He added that Zaya has “maintained” her grades “while navigating all this unsolicited and harmful attention and debates about her gender and sexuality from those who are committed to not listening to her, much less even knowing her!”
Fans of the athlete, who also shares 20-year-old son Zaire with Funches-Wade, stood by the teen in the comments section.
“She’s growing into a beautiful, powerful young woman,” one social media user wrote. “Anyone not supporting this journey is losing out.”