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Google PlayDwyane Wade has doubled down on the reasons why he and his family left Miami, Florida.
The former NBA star spoke with Variety on the red carpet at the Met Gala on Monday night, telling the outlet that he and wife Gabrielle Union made the decision that was “safest and best” for their daughter, Zaya Wade, which meant moving to Los Angeles.
“I love Miami,” Wade said. “Miami has done so much for me—Florida has done so much for me. … But the last couple years, the laws, the politics [have] really become this big conversation. This unsafe conversation. And it’s unsafe for my daughter, it’s unsafe for all the young kids, the youth and the adults and the [elderly] in the trans community. So for us, as much as I love that city and as much as I’m always going to be a part of it … for the safety of my family, that’s what it was for me. I couldn’t move back.”
He continued, “Obviously, the work don’t stop. So for all the kids in south Florida … we will always continue to speak out, to speak up. We continue to stand with this community because this community is for us, is with us. It is our community because of our daughter, Zaya Wade.”
Variety also spoke with Union, who added her own insight into her family’s move.
“We had to think about where every member of our household would be comfortable and welcomed and celebrated,” Union said. “In 2016, there was a move towards a less inclusive world and we felt that pretty immediately. And now, when you think about okay, older kids … they’re out in the world, Zaya’s gonna graduate in a couple years. … Where would Kaavia James go to school, where they’re open to teaching facts and accurate history? And where can they say gay, much less trans? And where would we maybe not get arrested for affirming our child’s identity?”
Union explained, “Right now, not looking like Florida. … And for everyone that is still in Florida and fighting the good fight, keep fighting because we are there in all of the others ways that we can be supportive of the movement in restoring real freedom. … But just know that we are actively not just fighting for our own family, but your family as well. We’re not free until everybody’s free.”
Wade first commented on his family’s move in late April, telling Rachel Nichols that he, Union, and their kids have relocated due to Florida politics and legislation that promotes homophobia and transphobia.
Wade has three kids from previous relationships—21-year-old basketball player Zaire Wade, 15-year-old model Zaya Wade, nine-year-old son Xavier Wade—and shares four-year-old Kaavia James with Union. Zaya came out as trans in 2020 and she officially changed her gender identity and legal name to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade this February.
