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NBA champion Dwyane Wade says he fled Florida because his ‘family would not be accepted’ there

April 27, 2023 | | Print Article

Liberals are clapping like the barking seals they are after NBA legend Dwyane Wade shared his reasons for leaving the state of Florida.

You see, the former Miami Heat star had a teenage son who decided before he was old enough to ditch his sippy cup that he was born in the wrong body. Given Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s policies against allowing teachers to discuss gender identities and sexual preferences with little kids and the state’s reluctance to let doctors perform life-altering procedures on still-developing children, Wade just didn’t believe the residents who made him rich with their devoted support would accept him and his family.

In 2020, Wade’s newly-named, newly-gendered “daughter” Zaya, whom Wade shares with his first wife and high school sweetheart Siohvaughn  Funches, declared that he was a girl, something Wade told “Good Morning America” at the time that his child knew since “she” was just three years old.

When the announcement was made, Zaya was barely 13, but Wade and his current family, including his new wife, Gabrielle Union, came out in full support of their child, with Wade speaking frequently about the need to embrace the LGBTQ community.

Speaking with NBA reporter Rachel Nichols on her Showtime program, “Headliners,” Wade explained that Florida’s policies, championed by DeSantis, made things too uncomfortable for Zaya, who is now cashing in on her transformation on Instagram. The social media influencer and model boasts more than 600,000 followers, the Daily Mail reports.

Ironically, one of the foundations of DeSantis’s anti-woke policies is a parent’s right — not the teachers’ — to guide their children when it comes to issues as sensitive as sexuality. This was the basis of the governor’s Parental Right in Education legislation that sparked the disingenuous “Don’t Say Gay” backlash.

Wade was awarded full custody of Zaya after he divorced Funches, and when “Zion” decided he’d like to legally change his name to “Zaya” and his gender to “female,” Wade argued in court that he alone had the “full authority” to “make decisions” on Zaya’s behalf.

Funches, who objected to the changes, lost her battle to Wade’s parental rights.

Still, the 41-year-old former athlete says leaving Florida behind was the right thing to do for his family, despite the fact that the state loved him so much they named an entire county after him.

“You know, obviously, the taxes are great. Having Wade County is great,” Wade told Nichols. “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.”

“A lot of people don’t know that,” he added. “I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions.”

On Twitter, the left’s response to Wade’s signal of virtue was predictable:

But others are calling BS on the basketball player’s claims.

“Always devastated for uber-wealthy celebrities when they pretend their families don’t feel comfortable,” wrote one user on Twitter.

“He is a joke,” stated another, “clearly not a serious person.”


If Wade’s explanation for leaving Florida raised a few eyebrows, his choice of a new home — Utah — sent them arching to Nancy Pelosi-like levels.

“So you leave Florida and go to the Mormon capital of the world….” mused one user. “Bold move there.”

 

Melissa Fine
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