NBA: Dwyane Wade accused of exploiting transgender daughter for money

NBA legend Dwyane Wade is being accused of exploiting his daughter, Zaya, for money. The allegations are coming from his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, who is the child's mother.

The former Miami Heat player is reportedly keen on helping 15-year-old Zaya legally change her name and gender identity. She was born male on May 29, 2007, and was named Zion Malachi Airamis Wade, but has decided to be known as Zaya Wade when she came out as transgender in 2019 when she was only eleven years old.

Now, a few years after Zaya came out and shot to fame, Dwyane has reportedly filed a petition to make the name and gender change legal. However, according to Page Six, Siohvaughn is against it because she believes that the move is being pushed by Dwyane because of the possible financial benefits that could come from it.

According to her complaint, Dwyane is ready to peddle Zaya off to various companies where marketing deals can be struck for financial gain. She mentioned Disney as one of the possible companies which may be interested in such a deal.

"I have concerns that [Wade] may be pressuring our child to move forward with the name and gender change in order to capitalize on the financial opportunities that he has received from companies," said Siohvaughn.

She added that her ex-husband informed her in April that "a lot of money had been already made" in connection with Zaya and her gender identity and name change.

"[Wade] told me that he intended to make our child very famous due to the name and gender issue and also informed me that there would be endorsements/contracts associated therewith," she added, in the statement quoted by Page Six.

Dwyane previously said that Zaya had known that she is transgender since she was three years old. She officially came out in 2019 when she was eleven, and Dwyane publicly spoke about it on "The Ellen Show" in 2020, causing a flurry of attention to come down upon the adolescent.

He said that the first step that Zaya took when she decided to transition was to ask Dwyane and his current wife Gabrielle Union (her stepmother) to refer to her using the pronoun "she."

Now, Dwyane wants to make the name and gender change legal against the will of Zaya's mother. Dwyane claims that he has full authority to make a petition for the name change, and only informed his ex as a courtesy. Siohvaughn, meanwhile, has asked Zaya to defer making a decision until she is no longer a minor.