Dwyane Wade has filed a petition to legally change his trans daughter’s name and gender.
The retired NBA star, 40, has filed a petition with the Los Angeles Superior Court to change his 15-year-old’s name from Zion Malachi Airamis Wade to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade, according to court documents obtained by The Blast Thursday.
She will also be female in all legal documents going forward, according to the request.
Wade has told the court that he has “full authority” to file the petition without the consent of Zaya’s mother, Siohvaughn Funches.
However, the documents state that the former Miami Heat player’s ex-wife received “announcement” “as a courtesy” of his petition, according to the report.
Wade has long been a supporter of his daughter’s gender identity, first sharing her coming out story on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in February 2020.
The pro athlete said at the time that Zaya one day told her parents she was “ready to live” [her] truth” and wanted them to use feminine pronouns when referring to her.
“We take our roles and responsibilities as parents very seriously,” Wade said of him and Zaya’s stepmother, Gabrielle Union, adding that they give their children the “best information [they] can, the best feedback that [they] can, and that doesn’t change because sexuality is now involved.”
A few days after the “Ellen” interview aired, Wade appeared on “Good Morning America” and shared more about his daughter’s journey, explaining that she knew she was transgender nine years before coming out. .
“She has been known since she was 3 years old,” he said told “GMA” anchor Robin Roberts in February 2020. “This is how we asked questions and learned. But she’s known.”
Wade is also the father of son Zaire, 20, with Funches, son Xavier, 8, with Aja Metoyer, and daughter Kaavia, 3, with Union, whom he married in August 2014.
Wade representatives did not immediately return Vidak For Congress’s request to comment on his daughter’s legal name and gender reassignment.