Retired NBA star Dwyane Wade suggested Thursday that he left Florida because the state’s ban on transgender medical procedures for minors goes against his values as the father of a transgender daughter.
Wade said in an interview for “Headliners” airing on Showtime that most people don’t know he’s no longer a Florida resident, despite being a three-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat.
Wade didn’t share where he moved, but he owns a home in the Los Angeles suburbs.
“I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions,” Wade told veteran sports journalist Rachel Nichols. “I mean, obviously, the tax [situation] is great. Having ‘Wade County’ is great. 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.”
Here’s what Dwyane Wade said on Headliners when I asked him about anti-LGBTQ laws in Florida: “That’s another reason why I don’t live in that state. A lot of people don’t know that…my family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there.” pic.twitter.com/1ya0AevA1C</ a>
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 26, 2023
Florida enacted a rule last month that prevents legal minors from starting puberty blockers or hormone therapy. The state’s Board of Medicine said there isn’t enough research into the procedures to justify their use.
Florida also passed a law that requires people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex.
Wade has been open about his son Zion’s gender transition into Zaya, which the former NBA player first shared on “Good Morning America” in 2020.
Zaya was 12 years old at the time. Wade said during that interview that his child felt she was a female since age 3.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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